1 - Breathless - Chapter One
Breathless --------------Tale of the Breathless One Light. Far too much light,to be in my bedroom. Panic fills my body, but just as quickly as it starts, it stops. I look around. Apparently, I was laying in some sort of forest. Where could I be? It does not matter, my mind says. Your system integrity is more important. System...integrity..? I wonder. Oh. Yes. I quickly remember who I am, or at least, was supposed to be. One being, a single piece of what I used to call 'The army' before I became part of them. Now, there were two pieces of that army. Superiors, and subordinates. That didn't seem right, not to my 'new' mind. My 'new' mind, or what I should call my 'self', said I had never been part of any army, ever. I wouldn't argue, since it was me. Or something. Checking myself over, it appeared I was intact. No bruises, no breakages, and no pain. Moving up my body, patting over all the vital parts, my hand catches on something covering my face. Trying to pry it off, I panic as I realize that it already was my face! An almost-panic overwhelms me, but once it again, it disappears just as fast. Why would I need a face, other than to see? After all, I am a combat robot, and I can just as easily communicate with my fellow soldiers via our psycho-radio transmitters. Or something...now I wasn't too sure. Still, the fact that even though my mind did not know my body through-and through, my body knowing itself made up for it. Well, of course my body would know itself! It's not like my body was stupid. If need be, it could take over itself, to aid in battle, or in the case of capture by enemy forces, it could reroute my bio-signal back to base, then initiate a self-destruct right after. After that, I could be re-initialized by HQ. I wonder how it works..? I don't recall any memories of ever being re-initialized. Was I inexperienced..? Or just...good? A cry for help brings me out of my inner talk. My 'old' mind asks what weapon I should use to help. I immediately choose a standard Mecha-Combat Carbine, a quick-reloading gun approximately a meter long, with an inch-and-a-half wide barrel made of durable carbon-based alloy. The gun materializes in my hand, making me panic once again,and just like before, the panic stops just as fast as the previous times. I could really learn to live without panic. It helps a lot. Dashing through the thick forest growth, I burst into a small, sunlit opening in the trees, where a human was confronting a woman seemingly in black clothing, with long, red hair. The woman seemed hurt, for I could see blood coming from her right arm, which she clasped with her left. "Now I've got you, you elusive bitch." I could see the human had a pistol in his hand, pointed at the woman's head now. I could also see what appeared to be an attack dog growling at her from his side, although the coloring of it's fur seemed a bit off. What could be seen as a vicious, evil smile was upon the man's face. "Hmm... maybe I should kill you quickly..? Or maybe I'll just... cut you apart.. and kill you.. slowly...?" A pitiful whimper escapes the woman, and I quickly break cover with gunfire, making the man jump back from the spot I shot at. Spinning quickly, I ram him with the base of my gun, finishing with a strong kick to the chest,sending him flying into a tree. The attack dog attempts to bit me, but my metalloid skin deflects it's fangs. I aim a kick at it, sending flying above the trees. My attention returns to the man, trying to cower against the tree. My gaze tightens on him,my eyes squinting angrily. The man whimpers. "W-what do you want?!?" My gaze moves to the woman, and back to him. He gets the message. "I-I promise I'll leave her alone!! Just-let me live!!" I look from her to him, and then back again. I advance quickly toward him, his eyes widening in fear. "No! PLEASE- aarghck!!" The butt of my gun once again connects with his head, knocking him out. Turning back to her, I approach her. Her face goes between emotions, easily read by my eyes, going from relief, to fear, to terror. She attempts to get away, failing by what seemed to be a broken leg. I raise a hand, signaling that I meant no harm. Now that I had a closer look at her, it turned out she was not a woman as I thought, but some sort of humanoid animalistic being. Her eyes slightly relax, but I could see she was in pain. I remember that all military robot personnel were equipped with heavy first-aid and mech-repair kits in the case of POW or other casualties, but I was not sure if it would work on this creature. Mentally sighing, I let the first-aid kit appear in my hand. Opening it, I open a container of alcohol, pouring it over the bleeding arm wound. I could tell it hurt, but she didn't fight me. Taking a roll of gauze tape, I begin wrapping her arm, the woven-in sealant tightening on the wound, keeping the blood from escaping as much. Next, I checked her leg. It seemed to be broken, but after a quick scan, appeared to just be heavily bruised. I knew that she probably would not be able to walk, and also it seemed to be getting dark, so I began looking for dry wood to start a fire with. It didn't seem like it had rained recently, so I was able to quickly and easily find sufficient wood, stacking it into a sort of pyramid. I let one of my fingers open, showing a small, low-powered flamethrower, made just for the purpose of starting fires. The wood leaps into flames, and I could see the creature's eyes widen as she sees it happen. Flicking my wrist a few times to cool it off, it retracts back into my finger. I could see she was torn about something, but about what, I haven't the faintest clue. "Th...thank you." Ah. That's what. I wanted to respond, but... no mouth, remember. Well,it seemed rude to ignore her, so after a second's delay, I slowly nod my head. She looks at me, surprised. "You can understand me?" I nod. She appears to think for a moment. "Can you... speak?" I shake my head, tapping the metal plate that would be where my nose and mouth should go, if I had one. "Oh...." I heard her sigh. I knew why, and silently agreed. It would be trying, trying to communicate without sound. Maybe it knew basic English..? It was a long shot, but still... Motioning for her attention, I walk over to her, crouching down, and grabbing a scoop of the burnt ashes from the fire, clearing some of the grass from the ground, and dumping it on the exposed dirt. I quickly spell out a question. "What am I?" the creature asks. I nod. "Well, I guess it makes sense that you don't know what I am, since it doesn't seem like you're from here." I nod warily. "I am one of many varying creatures like myself, called Pokémon." I nod, then write out another sentence in the ashes. "Oh, you want to know what to do with the person that was attacking me..?" I nod. "W..well, usually, you'd turn him in to the human authorities, I think...but..." I write out my assumption was. I could see her blush. "Yeah... that..." she says,embarrassed. "I can't walk." I nod, and motion that she may sleep. Pulling off my army jacket, I give it to her. She stares, then, as if trying to pull her eyes off of glue, she takes the jacket. I could tell why she was staring at me. Unlike my almost-human seeming arms, legs, and head, my chest was just a bunch of metal armor plates. Unlike most of those, who took pride in seeming mostly human, I never had most of my artificial skin replaced after my first firefight. Standing up, I ready my gun, my back against a tree, my line of sight never staying the same for long, as I had been taught. "You aren't going to sleep?" the creature asks. I shake my head, not turning. "Oh...okay then." the creature replies, settling down to sleep for the night.
Somewhere, far away... p.blanq:> psearch UID: **************** Searching..... Current location unknown. Begin administrator hkk search? Y/N p.blanq:> y Password: ********************************** Unable to track UID. No such UID '****************' or 'Adam' in database. p.blanq:> admin ndel clearlog Deleting session and logging out... Complete.
While He is standing guard.... I could feel the assailant stirring. I had forgotten to tie him up, but oh well. Not like he's got any weapons. I could also feel several presences in the trees around us. I could tell they were human by the voices I heard. "Nobody else is here, are we clear to go?" "Is he asleep, boss?" "Dead as a doornail. Let's move in." If I had actually had a real face, I would have smiled. They obviously did not know what they were dealing with. As the first one moves around to behind my tree, I startle him by hitting him with the base of my gun. Hitting hard enough to crack bones, I felt a satisfying crunch as his nose broke. Swinging around, not allowing the other assailants time to react either, I bash one's head, sending him to the ground instantly. The other, though, had just enough time to release a couple shots from his gun into my arm. Two new holes adorned my skin, my anger rising considerably. I just had that replaced, you dipshit! The fear could be seen in his eyes as I shot a couple rounds into his gun arm, then swinging the butt of my gun at his head, I heard another satisfying crack as the man's eyes roll back in his head, and he collapses on the ground. I give the man a satisfactory kick. He doesn't respond. Looking above me, I sees the beginning of the sun's rising. I knew I couldn't leave them here unaided, regardless of whether or not they attacked me. Remembering what the creature had said about authorities, I send up a flare. That should get their attention, I think. Moving over carefully to the sleeping creature, I tap her on her uninjured arm. Her eyes flit open, grasping my arm in a death-grip. Seeing me, she relaxes, then, seeing the unconscious bodies, her eyes widen. I nod. The look in my eyes tell her all she needs to know. She looks down at her leg, and then at my jacket. Handing it to me, I slip it on, buttoning it down, and slide my Mecha-Combat Carbine into the holster on my back. Holding out my arms, waiting for approval, she nods, and I gently pick her up. I allow my scanner to survey the area, before judging where the closest settlement should be. Looking first North, then South, then East, and finally West. I decide on heading westward, toward the area of highest activity. #***# I guess I should have picked a better city to go to. All in all, it was far too flashy, too bright. I could only wonder how it was affecting this creature's eyes, seeing as I had dimmed my own eyes' light intake. I look around for anything vaguely similar to a hospitalization center. My gaze finds it almost instantly. Now running toward it, I pass through the glass doors. What seemed to be a nurse looks from me, to the creature, back to me. Scanning around for anything vaguely similar to a computation terminal, my eyes flit shut for a moment, and find what I need. Sending a string variable as I've seen normal computational terminals send messages to one another, the message pops up on the screen in front of the nurse. "she needs medical attention immediately" The nurse's eyes widen in shock once more, then I could see her looking at the creature in my arms. Seeing the gauze on her arm, and the morbidly large amount of blood escaping from it, she steels herself. "You'll explain yourself later, mister." Turning to a room behind her desk, I hear her say, "Chancy, get a stretcher! We have an injured Pokémon!" A reply could be heard as two short, pink creatures come out with a stretcher. "Chan! Chan sey!" Laying the creature, the "Pokémon" on the stretcher, I attempt to follow them into the back room where I assumed they would help her. The nurse blocks my path. My gaze goes to her, tightening in annoyance. "Oh, no you're not! She needs to be cared for. You can wait out here. I'll call you when she's stable." My eyes tighten further, but then I relax. It's not like they could sneak her out of here without my passive scanners knowing. Taking my gun out of it's holster once more, I hold in a passive stance, a threat to anyone who wished to bother me. I could feel the nervousness of the other clientèle, so I sat down in a chair, closing my eyes, resting to all those who didn't know me, but in fact mapping out my surroundings, making a quick rescue and escape easier. Minutes pass, as I feel a hand grasp my shoulder. My eyes shoot open, then relax as I see it was only the nurse. "Now I want you to tell me just how you did that! And no funny business, the truth, all of it, now!" It showed in my eyes that I was laughing at her, and she didn't like it. "Tell me, now, or I'm going to have to ask you to leave." That did it. Annoyed, I sent as many variables as possible to any receiving devices nearby. Speakers popped as audio too loud for them to handle played in them. The nurse got the point. With her backing away, my eyes close once more, my scanners once again mapping out the area, further this time, looking for police forces or other armed foes that may happen to be called by this nurse. None moved. I could tell several people were moving toward the forest I had just come from, but no others were around. I realized this must be their sleeping hours still. Minutes passed, then hours. The nurse approaches me once more, my eyes flicking open. "You may see your Pokémon now." I nod, re-holstering my gun, getting up, and following her. I could tell that she felt much better now, and she jumped out of the bed she was in, wrapping her arms around me. I knew what this was; humans did this as a sign of gratitude, or trust. "Thank you for helping me. I'm not sure I would have survived if you hadn't shown up." I nod, giving her a casual salute. I start to head out the door. "Wait! You're leaving?" She grabs my arm. I turn to look at her, my eyes asking Yes, why does it matter? "Oh...you couldn't stay for a while, maybe..?" If I had a mouth, I would have chuckled. I nod, stationing myself on a chair. I send a string to the nearest computational terminal. "What is her condition?" The nurse jumps at the sound of the 'message received' chime coming from the terminal. Reading it, she replies, "She is in a state of minor dehydration, major starvation and malnutrition, and blood loss. It would be best if she stayed here, though it would help if she had some real food to eat, rather than just an IV." Nodding, as I had suspected as much, I send another string. "How shall I get her food, without money?" The nurse looks at me. "You have no money?" I shake my head, leaving the room with her. "I am willing to work for money, as I get jobs done quickly and efficiently." She looks at me for a moment. As she is about to respond, two officers come into the building, motioning her over. I pick up on their conversation easily. "A flare just went up not too long ago. When we got to the source, there were four members of a gang notorious for stealing Pokémon beaten to a pulp by what they said was a trainer with a strange gun. They admitted to trying to steal the injured Zoroark he had while they were sleeping, only to get several harsh bruises and breakages. One of them even had two non-lethally places bullet holes in his primary arm. We were wondering if you might have seen him, as this is the closest major city with a Pokémon Center." I could feel almost every gaze turn to me. Ready for any sort of attack, my eyes tighten toward the officer. Her eyes turn to me. Ready to resist arrest, I waited for her to approach me. "Are you the one who did that to them?" I nod carefully. "And did you send up the flare?" I nod again. Her face lights up in a grin. Catching me off guard, she gives me a grateful handshake. "That's wonderful! They've been terrorizing trainers in the area for so long! Every time we think they would attack, they just avoid us! It's wonderful! Without four of their best members, they'll be crippled as a gang! Is there anything we can do to repay you?" My eyes turn to the nurse, who gets what I mean. "His Zoroark needs food, but he has no money. I'm guessing he'd like a good meal for himself and his Pokémon." "I point to myself, and shake my head. Pointing back to the room, I nod. "A good meal for your Pokémon only? Surely you need food and rest after running all the way here with a Zoroark in your arms?" the officer exclaims. Inwardly sighing, I shake my head, pulling down the neck of my army jacket to show the metal just under my collarbone. I point to where my mouth would be, tap it, and shake my head. She raises her eyebrows and tilts her head slightly, looking at me. Unbuttoning part of my jacket, I point to the metal, pulsing slightly. Her look of comprehension showed me she got the picture. Pointing again back to the Pokémon's room, I nod, and make eating gestures. She catches me off guard by bursting into a fit of laughter. My eyes question her. As she sees me, she says between chuckles, "Of course, it makes sense... you got them because you're not human! You got them... because you looked like a normal person, up till the point where you smacked them senseless! Caught `em off guard. I'll go get a good meal for your Zoroark, just wait here." In my head, I pondered the sanity of the woman who instantly accepted a creature capable of beating a group of notorious criminals senseless without anything to show for it, then blow up all local electronics. Still brushing tears of mirth out of her eyes, she leaves with the other officer chuckling all the while, leaving me slightly confused, but nonetheless better for the wear.