Chapter Seventeen

A [I]human[/I]? A [I]human[/I] was sat in his cargo hold? Macro blinked in bewilderment. Switch hadn't moved an inch since he'd declared such a statement. He stared back at the mawile, matching his open-mouthed, wide-eyed expression.

So humans existed. He had living proof. Maybe Socket wasn't as crazy as he'd thought.

He didn't look like he'd expected humans too, however. The old fairy tale books he'd read as a hatchling depicted them as some strange passimian-nuzleaf hybrid with a pair of lightly furred paws with incredibly long fingers that could have given a galvantula leg envy. What he had sat before him looked nothing like any pokemon he'd ever seen. The closest would be a sawk or throh, but that would have been stretching things a bit.

Macro shifted so his paw was resting on his hip and Switch jolted, his eyes flying to the mawile's laser. Macro forced a grin and let out a small laugh.

"Don't worry," he said. "I ain't gonna shoot ya."

Switch closed his eyes as he sighed and leant back on his paws. "That's a relief. I don't think I've ever seen a pokemon with a weapon before. I feel like I've entered an alternate universe or something."

"I wouldn't know about that," said Macro. "I mean, according to folklore, humans used to exist here. Apparently. Can't say I ever believed it. It was just all nonsense told to gullible hatchlings."

"Well, I was always skeptical." Anchor turned and scooped up an unconscious Matrix. "I mean, if they all went back through that Fracture thing, then there wouldn't be any fossils left. Would there?"

"The Fracture?" Switch looked up at the granbull. "So that happened here?"

"I guess so," said Macro. "Ten centuries ago."

"Ten..." Switch's eyes went distant and he mouthed something quietly that sounded a lot like maths. "Wait... one thousand years ago?!"

"Hit the nail on the head there, pal." Macro turned towards the stairs. "Suppose we'd better get you back quickly then if you're gonna have any shot at getting back through that Fracture thing to your own world, eh?"

"I think you're mistaken," said Switch. "We already closed the Fracture years ago."

Macro turned and raised an eyebrow. "Eh?"

"Allow me to help," said DL. "Whereas one thousand years is an approximation, that tear reached back nine hundred and ninety two years ago. Not one thousand."

"So you're saying that tear was post-Fracture?" Macro asked her.

"Going off what he's said, apparently."

"Wow." Macro folded his arms. "Socket got pretty lucky to pull a straggler through."

"I wouldn't call myself a straggler," said Switch. "But the humans have definitely gone back home. Well... most of them."

"Then why didn't you?"

"I didn't want to. System became my home and there was so much I hadn't seen. Still haven't seen!"

Macro rolled his eyes and scanned the stairwell door open. "More fool you for wanting to stay in this world. If I had the chance to leave, I'd go willingly. And I doubt I'm alone in that, either." He waved a paw at the human and cleared his throat. "You might want to 'bird up' again. Not everywhere on my ship is as wide as this cargo hold."

Switch reached for his watch which was now around his right wrist, and at the press of a button shrank down into the winged form of a talonflame. The sight tied Macro's stomach in knots.

"I don't think I'm ever gonna get used to that," he said.

Anchor went ahead of Macro, cradling a mumbling Matrix in his arms. DL followed close behind Macro, her silent paw steps drowned out beneath the skittering claws as Switch scrambled after them.

"I never have liked narrow corridors," he said. "So, you said this is your ship?"

"Yup. Wildcard Gamma," said Macro.

"Gamma?" Switch made a small chuckle. "What happened to Alpha and Beta?"

"We don't talk about Alpha and Beta," said Macro.

Anchor's mowhawk swayed from side to side as he shook his head.

"Oh..." said Switch. "I was actually just joking."

The door into the loot room opened and Macro kept one eye over his shoulder, watching the talonflame's golden eyes scan the room with awe. He said nothing, however, as they passed through it into the main body of the ship.

"This is where the bedrooms are," Macro told him. "I'll sort you one out later. I'm sure DL won't mind lending a paw?"

The pachirisu shook her head.

"You want me to stay on your ship?" Switch asked.

"Well, I hardly think System is acclimated to humans at this present time," said Macro. "And since Socket is after you for reasons I'll explain shortly, then I think you're safest with a bunch of space pirates. Don't you?"

"Space pirates?" Switch took a small step back.

Macro placed his paws on his hips. "They have space pirates in your time line?"

"They had ocean pirates," said Switch. "Out by the Analogue Islands."

"Isles."

"Pardon?"

"It's the Analogue Isles," said Macro.

Switch frowned. "What difference does it make?"

"None whatsoever. But it's what everyone calls them. Besides, you don't want to go there." Macro turned and continued down the corridor. "This room on the end is the washroom. Opposite is the kitchen and dining area."

Cookie's brown face peeked around the door and beamed when he saw Switch. "Someone else new for dinner? Good job I've made plenty, huh?"

Switch gave him a warm smile and followed Macro into the cockpit.

"And this is where all the action takes place," said Macro.

"It's also kind of where we all hang out," said Anchor as he set Matrix into his seat.

The ribombee rubbed his head and looked around slowly. "When did we get back into the cockpit?"

Macro pulled himself up into his seat and kicked his feet up onto the dashboard. "Any questions?"

"Yes, a few, actually." Switch looked around the room. "Firstly, you don't have enough seats to match your crew numbers."

"Well, you and DL are fairly new," said Macro. "We can get that looked into once we can afford it."

Switch visibly flinched. "It's not very safe, though, is it?"

"The life of a space pirate isn't at the best of times. If we find ourselves in combat, hunker down and close your eyes if it's too much for you."

"Combat? I thought pokemon fought using their elemental attacks and you're in a ship armed with little guns." Switch raised an eyebrow. "Why are you carrying weapons?"

"They're to counter our weaknesses," said Macro.

"You're weakness is fire." Switch was thoughtful for a moment then a small smile tugged at his beak and he winked. "Does that mean it's a water pistol?"

Macro met his smirk with a frown. "Are you sassing me?"

Switch's golden eyes widened and he shook his head. "No! Not at all. I was just making a joke."

"Another? You do that a lot."

Switch shrugged and cowered into himself. "I'm sorry. I'm just nervous. I mean, I got dragged through a porthole into another world! And not for the first time, either!"

Macro stared at him then rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine. I get you're anxious, but seriously. Relax. If time and space is being torn open, I'm sure you're world will be opened up again soon enough. Besides, DL should know that as soon as it happens."

"Oh yeh. That reminds me." Switch ruffled his feathers and turned his eyes onto DL. "Why does a pachirisu have an antennae and socket? Is she a robot? Because if so, then that's pretty advanced and phenomenally life-like compared to what I'm used to."

"DL is actually a pachirisu," said Macro. "As for her... enhancements... we'll... you ready for a bit of a shock, Switch?"

"I think the one I've had is large enough, thank you."

"This one is actually about you." Macro narrowed his eyes and swiveled fully in his seat. "You see, there's a reason you've been dragged into another time line. And I don't think you're gonna like it one bit."

...

Socket paced back and forth in her office with her paws clasped behind her back, keeping the split holoscreen in her peripheral vision. The worried, chubby face of Yobi greatly contrasted BackDoor's amused expression.

"So let me get this straight." She rounded on the screen and Yobi cowered behind the panel of his handheld. "You found a pocket that reached back almost ten centuries ago... and Hunter interfered again?"

The sparksurfer raichu nodded briskly. "But in all fairness-"

"What did he take this time?" she asked.

"A talonflame," said Yobi.

BackDoor folded his arms and closed his eyes while the raichu glanced away from the screen.

"A talonflame," Socket repeated. "Or a human?"

"Well, erm..." Yobi shuffled in his seat. "It's hard to say."

"Weren't a pokemon," said BackDoor. "That's for certain."

"So it wasn't a pokemon?" Socket tapped her claws over her arm and narrowed her eyes at the raichu.

"Nope," said BackDoor. "My scan data came back all wrong. Everything about it - its heat signature, brain waves, chip data - all wrong. If I were to hazard a guess - and it's a fairly educated guess - I'd say what your little vermin took off with was in fact a human."

Yobi flinched and sank down in his seat so only his ears were visible.

Socket rubbed the bridge of her nose between two claws. "So you're telling me that Hunter has taken off with a human? My human?!"

BackDoor raised his stubby paw. "Along with your living computer. Yes."

Socket rounded on the hoopa. "You're not helping!"

"Hey, you don't pay me to be an agony aunt," he said.

"I don't pay you at all."

BackDoor folded his arms and grinned. "Yeh. We really need to talk about that. Your employee care is absolutely shocking."

The fur on the back of Socket's neck stood on end and she pursed her lips together, fixing the grinning hoopa in a vicious leer before rounding back on the quaking raichu.

"That space pirate really is the mothim in my honey," she muttered. "How has he beaten me? How did he know where to look?"

"That's because there's one little flaw I'm trying to work around," said Yobi quickly. "Download Database receives information from the other artificials in the BackDoor network."

"So he gets live updates from wherever these gates open?" Socket closed her eyes and seethed. "Is there any way you can remove Download Database from it?"

"Not without obtaining her," said Yobi. "As a safety precaution, we deliberately designed Download Database so it could only be disconnected from the user's end. That way, if someone were to obtain one of the artificials then they couldn't disconnect Download Database and the host could be used to track down the missing artificial, however Download Database can disconnect other artificials from the network, blocking their access to confidential information."

"That's a neat little oversight you forgot to inform me about." Socket spoke with a dangerous air that made the raichu cower and BackDoor break into hysterical fits of laughter. "What, may I ask, do you plan to do about this?"

Yobi glanced to the side. "Like I said... I'm trying to work on something."

"Then work faster!" She tapped her foot rapidly and frowned. "I trust an investigation into the human's whereabouts, along with finding a replacement, are in action?"

Yobi nodded with such ferocity his ears flopped back and forth. "Oh yes! Already I've copied the program from TimeSkip into Zero Day, and they are being deployed to all corners of System Sky as we speak!"

"Urgh, not Zero Day." BackDoor slammed a paw into his face. "Whenever I communicate with those things it's like having a million voices in my head all vying for first place."

Yobi glanced sideways at the adjoining screen. "I admit there are problems, but I can assure you they are as stable as we could possibly get them in the limited time-"

"Enough!" Socket stamped her foot. "You had ample time! Will it still work? That's the question!"

"Oh, it'll work." Yobi forced a smile to counter his doubtful tone. "And with so many out there scouring for dimension and time pockets, we should find a replacement in no time."

"And of the current human?"

Yobi shrugged and immediately regretted it. He cowered back from Socket's glare and cleared his throat.

"We'll..." He stuttered. "We'll have someone track-"

"Forget it." Socket tapped her arm irritably. "I'll get my mercenary on it. You just focus on doing your job. As for you." She looked back at the hoopa who grinned widely and met her glare. "Keep a close eye on TimeSkip and Zero Day. Make sure you're there in no time flat to open up those pockets and grab anything that comes through before that nuisance space pirate."

He saluted and blinked out, the holoscreen spreading into a full high definition image of Yobi's terrified face. Socket leered at the raichu and pursed her lips.

"What are you waiting around for?" she spat. "You're dismissed! Go!"

The screen blinked out before the pokemon could even remember to salute. The gothitelle turned away from the screen to look out of the window. Even from this distance she thought she could see the hull of Wildcard Gamma in the sky, but it was nothing more than a large, grey cloud.

She turned back to the holoscreen and tapped through her contacts list until she found the one she was looking for. It jingled out a jaunty tune while the dialing icon danced from side to side, a little too cheerful for her liking, until it cut out and was replaced with the concerned face of a zigzagoon.

"Socket?" she asked. "How can I help you?"

"Surge," said Socket. "How is the pursuit of Hunter progressing?"

Surge scratched her ear beneath her bandana and glanced away. "He keeps slipping out of my grip."

Socket pursed her lips together. "Shame. He's interfered with my work yet again, so I'd appreciate it if things sped up a bit. Is the laser not reliable enough for you?"

"Oh, it's fine!"

"Did you miss your target?"

"I never miss my target." Surge gave her a reassuring smile. "Just give me a little more time and he'll be behind bars before you know it."

"Make sure he is," said Socket. "Dead or alive."

She hung up and Surge's face vanished back into the desk. Once again, she turned back to her window and strolled over to her own desk. Her claws brushed a pile of paperwork and she slid the top sheet aside to reveal the morbid photo of a molten magnezone.

'[I]I never miss my target![/I]'

Of course, there was no evidence to state that Surge was responsible for the massacre of a magnezone's police fleet. The fact it coincided with Hunter's raid on yet another data chip did leave a bitter taste in her mouth, and gave her doubts. Had the mawile acquired a fire laser, or was Surge actually responsible? She needed to get onto interrogating that stubborn croagunk.

She looked away from the photo and stared up at the sky. Space pirates. The very bane of her existence, costing her countless hours of sleep.

It was going to be a long night, and the office was oddly quiet. She wished desperately Tweak would hurry up with her coffee.

...

Switch had been silent for some time, sitting with his beak hanging open as he stared at the floor. Macro's explanation had long since ended and he was growing restless, much like the rest of his crew. Anchor hummed to himself as he watched the sky roll by; DL sat against the wall a few feet away from the talonflame looking rather shaken up; Matrix, however, had loaded up a retro eight-bit tennis-style game on his computer, minimizing the navigation system into the top right corner.

"This is all a lot to take in," Switch finally said, although not for the first time. "This Socket... you said she's mayor of System?"

Macro nodded. "Yup."

"And she's wanting to do to me - or any other human - exactly what she's done to DL?" Switch nodded to the pachirisu who flinched at the sound of her name.

"Except, unlike her, Socket can legally destroy your memories and personality," said Macro. "So if I were you, I'd keep your human form on the down-low."

Switch closed his eyes and sighed. "So if this is System... it's many many years ahead of my time line and very few even know humans ever existed here. I have my suspicions on why she wants a human, but... why go out of her way to get one?"

"If I were to guess," said Anchor, scratching his chin, "I'd say it's 'cos back then, humans generally were stuck in a pokemon form. They aren't pokemon, though, so turning them into a living computer would be legal and the perfect disguise."

Switch spread his wings in a shrug. "But why not just build an android? Why use a living computer?"

"Androids can malfunction," said Macro. "They also need charging up and regular maintenance. You can just feed a biological body and let it sleep. Much more cost effective."

Anchor nodded to Macro. "Got brains, this one."

"Well, it's abhorrent!" said Switch. "What if she doesn't just stop at me, either? What if she decides to farm back into the pre-Fracture time line and drag all the humans through?"

Macro scratched the base of his horn and exchanged glances with Anchor and Matrix.

"I hadn't thought of that," he said.

The other two shook their heads and Matrix returned to his game.

"Socket doesn't have much of an opinion for any species she sees as having a lower status," Macro went on. "Humans would mean nothing to her, just like the water dwelling pokemon. I wouldn't be surprised if she does farm humans through to this time line just like they yank those water dwellers out of their homes."

Switch's beak fell open. "What does she do with the water dwellers?"

"Turns them into meat," Macro spat.

Switch turned so pale Macro feared he might faint. The talonflame raised a wing to his face and closed his eyes.

"I... I can't even process that," he said.

"What?" Macro scoffed. "They didn't eat meat in your time line?"

"No, they did not." He tucked his wing back to his side and met Macro's glare. "Which fool altered that law? Because the way I see it, it's cannibalism."

"I don't know," said Macro. "That law was in place long before I hatched. Just be glad you ain't a fish." He turned back towards the windscreen and kicked his feet up. "Besides, you have a healthy outlook on that matter. I won't have any cannibals on my ship."

"Speaking of ships." Matrix drew the mawile's attention. "That stalker of ours is back."

Macro muttered under his breath and pulled himself from his seat, watching the blinking red dot on the screen. Was it Surge again? If so, then why was she following him so intently? There was no saying it was, however. It could be anyone after his head.

"Stalker?" Switch peered over the ribombee's shoulder.

"Aye," said Macro. "It happens a lot. Even more so as of late."

"You said this DL was meant to go to Socket," said Switch. "Have you considered they might be tracking her somehow?"

Macro looked up into Switch's golden eyes then glanced towards DL. She stared back at him, still huddled against the wall. A tracking chip? No, he'd not considered that.

"Every pokemon in System has a data chip," he told Switch. "It contains your name, hatch date, species, gender, age, place of birth. All that stuff. But it can't track your movements. Tracking chips are illegal, they go against pokemon rights. Surely Socket wouldn't break the law, right? Since DL is still a pokemon? She still has her rights."

"Can you scan her chip?" Switch asked.

He expanded out into his human form again, eliciting a small squeak from Matrix, and reached into one of his many pockets to pull out a large pocket computer that he needed both hands to hold. In one fluid motion, he ran it past DL's small body and looked down at the screen.

"Same kind," he said almost to himself. "It still scans."

"They've been using them for decades," said Macro. "We all have one."

"Yes, but hers is strange. It has her name as Download Database. Is that her real name? Because it sounds odd even for System."

Macro and Anchor peered down at the screen. Even Matrix abandoned his game to hover over the human's head. On the screen were the details one would expect from a chip scan. It had DL's gender, age, even her photograph. It had Meta City as her place of hatching and residence, which surprised Macro since Meta City was primarily inhabited by psychic and normal type pokemon. Most other species were shunned unless they shared a type with one of the other two and treated it as their primary type.

"Does this look authentic?" Switch asked.

"Pretty much," said Macro. "Except..."

"I don't like it," said Matrix. "Her name is her computer name, right? And Meta City as her place of hatching? Electric types don't live there."

Anchor grunted and nodded. "Sounds like a cover-up to me."

"It's either been modified or faked." Matrix scratched between his antennae. "With all the ships that have been following us, I'm leaning towards the latter."

"All right." Switch placed his computer back into his pocket. "Do you have a medical kit?"

"Why would my ship have a medical kit?" Macro asked. "We're not doctors."

"For emergencies?"

"You're planning on removing her chip, aren't you?" A small smirk tugged at Macro's lips. "Not in my cockpit, pal. I ain't cleaning up any blood."

"Wait, what?" DL hugged her fluffy tail to her chest. "You're wanting to operate on me now?"

Macro placed a paw on his hip. "What's the problem?"

"I'm still trying to come to terms with everything you've just said!" She shook her head. "Humans... living computers... and now you think I'm being tracked?"

"All that stuff about humans and computers should have been in your databases," said Macro.

"Well it wasn't!" said DL. "Not in such details! I don't know anything about what her plans are prior to obtaining her beloved computer, but it's like... I'm just some prototype until something 'better' comes along! A waste! She removed everything about me... for this?" She waved a paw at Switch.

The human frowned slightly and pushed the button on his watch, returning to the smaller and more agreeable form of a talonflame. Regardless, DL just cowered behind her tail and stared at the wall.

"I don't think she likes me," said Switch.

Macro grunted and climbed back into his seat. "We'll head to Pulse City. She can have the chip removed there easy peasy. Then we'll figure out what to do with you, Switch."

The talonflame shuffled over to Anchor's other side and gazed out of the window with his beak slightly ajar. Floating cities sped past them amongst the fluffy white and grey clouds, all the while with their stalker following at a steady pace behind them.