FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Mr. Lucario! Zoroark is waiting for you in there!" the Whimsicott said while pointing ahead. Lucario felt extremely underwhelmed by the sight, a completely square house made out of dull, grey concrete. The revolutionaries' underground base had also been rather shabby, but compared to the extravagance of No Man's Land he felt like he was being led into an outhouse.

"Or rather, he is not in there... But he is definitively waiting for you!" the Whimsicott continued, making Lucario and Zerobi look at him funny.

"What do you mean, he's not in there?" Lucario asked worriedly, "I'll feel really, really stupid if this turns out to be a trap after all."

"It is not!" the Whimsicott assured him, "Upon entering, someone like you should have no problem understanding what I mean."

"Good luck... You'll need it," Zerobi snickered balefully, almost hoping it would turn out to be a trap so she could not only be proven right but also get an excuse to wreck Zoroark. She remembered that his lackey had struck her head pretty hard back in No Man's Land, but with the legendary Celebi clutching onto her back she felt a whole lot safer than usual. Lucario stared helplessly at the house as he swallowed hard, entering the square building alone while wondering what the Whimsicott had meant by 'someone like him'.

Inside was nothing but a staircase which led down, making Lucario realize that the revolutionaries really liked underground bases for some reason. He descended the stairs and was glad to see that the walls and ground were still made out of concrete, instead of mud and dirt like earlier. There was a strange glow coming from below, and as he finally reached the bottom he saw Zoroark.

Their encounter was not what Lucario had expected it to be, and suddenly he understood the Whimsicott's cluelessness. Zoroark was not actually there, but rather on a large screen at the end of the room. Lucario recognized it as a videophone, one so big it made her almost twice the size he was. From what he could tell, she had taken no obvious damage after her fall. It occurred to him that she appeared male once more, and he realized she might simply be hiding her wounds with more illusions.

Zoroark was clearly unaware of his presence, leaning up against a metallic wall while reading a newspaper with a bored expression. Her massive red hair hung limply beside her, and she let the claws on her left hand idly run through it. Lucario had never seen her as casual as this before. He was more used to seeing her fighting, commanding and generally being on edge, wondering if she was expecting anyone to be able to see her in this state.

Awareness must have struck her at that very moment, Zoroark letting her eyes glance away from the paper and suddenly fasten upon him.

"H... Have I established verbal communication with Lucario?" Zoroark said, turning towards him while sounding unsure of herself.

"Yeah," Lucario replied while waving his arm around, "Or as we say where I'm from, 'Hello'."

"... Indeed..." Zoroark whispered, her usual display of confidence returning as put down the paper, moved away from the wall and stared at Lucario through the monitor with an assertive gaze.

"Hello, Lucario," Zoroark said as a sinister smile crossed her face, "Or should I say... Hello, Ethan?"

Lucario quickly dropped his arm, breathing in sharply in surprise.

"You... You believe me!?" he gasped, scrambling his memories to figure out what he had and hadn't told her regarding his past.

"I believe... Something," Zoroark said while looking a bit uncertain, "The way you talk and act... How move in combat, not completely aware of the limitations in your own bodily structure... As impossible as it seems, you really were human, weren't you?"

"Yeah, but... How the hell did you figure out which human I used to be?" Lucario asked, surprised since not even he had done that on his own. Mew was the one who had to tell him, and for a moment's hesitation he wondered if the small legendary had something to do with this.

"That Mankey you encountered when entering No Man's Land might have seemed a bit unreliable..." Zoroark admitted before tapping the side of her head, "... But his memory is extraordinary, hence why I gave him that job in the first place."

Thinking back, Lucario remembered giving his real name to a tree-climbing fuzzball before entering No Man's Land, Zerobi getting mad at him for some reason. It was not until now that he realized he had nearly given her actual name as well, and considering her past that might very well have ended up in tragedy.

"Of course, we are both friendly friends now, Ethan..." Zoroark whispered as a threatening expression fell upon her face, "... But should you for whatever reason feel like revealing my secret to anyone, know that I could just as easily reveal yours."

"That'd be great, actually," Lucario replied, having no qualms whatsoever with more Pokﾃｩmon knowing he was once Ethan. Zoroark was taken aback by this, suddenly becoming worried as she tried to think of something else to dissuade him from revealing her powers of illusion and true gender.

"Don't worry, I won't spoil the surprise for your fangirls," Lucario said, the Sigilyph popping into his mind for a second and making him snicker, "Now that we've got the blackmailing out of the way, how are you doing?"

"... Rather well, considering..." Zoroark muttered while trying to bring herself back together, knowing there were actually more important things to discuss than her private secrets, "... Wish I could say the same for the current state of affairs. Have you found Mew yet? Where is she?"

"Can't say," Lucario responded with an irritated shrug, there mere mention of Mew starting to annoy him.

"Can't..." Zoroark repeated quietly, "... Or won't?"

"You need a Q-tip!?" Lucario shouted angrily, fed up with still being treated like an enemy after having trusted her enough to even come in the first place, "She's fine, but she left before I could reunite with her. I don't know where she is. Stop not trusting me."

Zoroark's face scrounged up for a moment, and he could hear her cursing under her breath.

"Of course I trust you! It's not that at all..." Zoroark said as gently as she could muster before turning towards the screen with a very stern look on her face, "Listen, do you have any idea as to where she might be? It is very, very, VERY important that I get into contact with one of the legendaries as soon as possible."

"Oh, is that all you want?" Lucario replied nonchalantly, still feeling a bit ticked off, "No problem, I'll just ask one of the other legendaries I know. I've got Celebi with me, will she do?"

A moment of silence passed as Zoroark stood frozen, staring at him with an expression of surprise and disbelief.

"Why you?" Zoroark asked bluntly before snapping out of it, "I mean, yes. Let me talk to her!"

"Well... She's pretty damn shy, and you don't have the best track record when it comes to dealing with legendaries," Lucario huffed as he calmed down, "I'll ask her, but you might want to tell me what it's all about first."

"Fair enough," Zoroark sighed, wondering just how badly Lucario would react to the news. After explaining the situation to the Whimsicott, he had flown into a panic and immediately called for the Sigilyph who was their best tracker when it came to tracing aura, setting out to find Lucario. Zoroark hoped Lucario did not know that the Sigilyph also happened to be the best anti-fighting type they had, and would have made sure to bring him here whether he wanted to or not. She felt relieved that he had been reasonable enough to come along without a fuss, and relied on the fact that his reason would stay with him for just a little bit longer.

"We managed to trace the location of the laboratory shown in the Tape," Zoroark said, the frightful and depraved imagery within still filling her with disgust, "It was not filmed in Celadon City where we found it, but elsewhere. A bit curious as to why anyone in their right state of mind would ever do something like that, I had a scouting party sent to investigate. The results were... No good."

"No good?" Lucario repeated. He had yet to see the Tape, but knew that the contents were enough to anger those who had seen it to the point where they went ballistic and threw every human out of Celadon City.

"Do you know what a virus is, Lucario?" Zoroark asked bluntly.

"... Is it the technical term for people asking obvious questions?" Lucario answered with a question, smiling at the thought of someone not knowing what a virus is.

"This is no laughing matter!" Zoroark suddenly burst out with a stern voice, "If you did know what a virus is, you would not be wearing that casual grin right now!"

"No, like..." Lucario stammered, his face falling as flat together with his joke, "I mean... Of course I'm familiar with the term!"

"You will soon be familiar with the actual thing!" Zoroark continued as she realized she was losing her calmness, "Those insipid Rockets... They have..."

Zoroark breathed in deeply. She could not afford to let go of her temper or make too light of things. With or without her own display of emotions, Lucario would come to realize the gravity of the situation soon enough.

"They have isolated the structure of the Pokﾃｩrus virus," Zoroark explained calmly, each syllable dripping with venom, "Usually harmless and actually quite beneficial, it only attaches itself to a group of cells that are unique to Pokﾃｩmon. However, as of the latest reports I have received... They are restructuring it into something lethal."

"How... Infectious is it?" Lucario asked quietly, a chill running up his spine.

"We won't know until they deploy it," Zoroark said with a shrug, "But depending on how they choose to spread it, and how long it takes to create a vaccine... It could go anywhere from a few localized deaths to wiping out all Pokﾃｩmon on the planet."

"... That's insane!" Lucario shouted in disbelief, "I refuse to believe anyone's THAT bloodthirsty!"

"Actually, you've already met him," Zoroark muttered while looking down on her claws for a moment, "The head developer is the scientist we ran into back in Saffron City. The one I put to sleep and probably should've killed when I had the chance to..."

"No kidding!" Lucario yelled while slapping his forehead, still trying to comprehend what was going on, "You've doomed us all!"

"Do not presume your hands are clean in all of this!" Zoroark shouted in response, "I know for a fact that the information they gained from experimenting on your immunity to Pokﾃｩballs helped their progress quite a bit!"

Lucario froze up, wanting to respond but coming up short of breath. Zoroark looked at him and cursed herself for once more losing control. She herself had just barely gotten over her initial reaction to the whole thing, but knew she had to be strong and take charge if the oncoming calamity was to be averted.

"Forgive me. This is not the time for pointing fingers," Zoroark mumbled shamefully as she lowered her head, "Rather, I suggest we gather as many powerful Pokﾃｩmon as possible and go trash their place before the virus is completed."

Scratching the side of his head, Lucario suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Part of him refused to believe that this was really happening, but the other part remembered all too well what he had witnessed in the lab back in Saffron City. The cruel, unseen experiments upon the Dragonair and cocooned insect. If their lives had been worth less than dirt to the scientists, who was to say the lives of every other Pokﾃｩmon meant anything more?

"But... To kill off all Pokﾃｩmon...." Lucario stammered in disbelief, "Won't it screw up the ecosystem...? Destroy the planet...?"

"Who knows?" Zoroark replied while shaking her head, "I'd say that whatever happens after we're all dead is not really of much concern... Not to us, anyway."

"Can't wait," Lucario muttered sarcastically, "By the way, how long do we have?"

"Depends. I don't think even they know when the virus will be completed," Zoroark responded with a sigh, "Do not worry, I have them under the watch of a very reliable spy who will inform us before it is finished."

"Us? Are you sure you want to be telling more people about this?" Lucario asked carefully, "Won't it, you know, cause widespread panic?"

"Oh, that would be wonderful," Zoroark scoffed to herself, "Alas, I fear that would not be the case. If you really were human, you probably understand the differences of our mentality. Humans are weak and frightened that just about anything might kill them, and take precautions accordingly... But would a proud Aggron understand that an organism too small to see could potentially kill him and everyone he knows?"

The mental image of Ivy flashed through Lucario's mind, knowing firsthand how unreasonable Pokﾃｩmon can be. Then again, he also remembered how she was ready to kill him based on some old legend that his survival would bring calamity.

A very painful thought clutched his mind as he remembered what Zoroark had said, how the scientist's experiments upon him had helped develop the lethal virus. In a way, his survival really had set the world down the path of destruction. He immediately shrugged the thought off, knowing it was nothing but silly superstition, but the damage upon his psyche had already been done.

"So, now you know why I need to speak with a legendary," Zoroark said, apparently tired of waiting for a response, "This is something that concerns us all. Risks are something we cannot afford to take... Even if I fail, they must be prepared to prevent this."

"I get it, I get it..." Lucario exclaimed while rubbing his aching forehead, "I'll go talk to Celebi and tell her to come down here."

"Good," Zoroark answered while noticing his discomfort, "And Lucario... It was nice talking to you again."

"Yeah..." Lucario muttered, wishing he could say the same thing. His mood seemed to have fallen down in the dumps, but Zoroark was still amazed that he had taken the news of their impending doom so well. As he turned around to leave, she wondered if maybe he was getting a little too accustomed to life-threatening situations for his own good.

"Wait..." Zoroark suddenly said, noticing something she had not seen until now, "... Why do you have a hole in your ear?"

"Long story," Lucario said with a wave of his hand, his stomach churning strangely. He felt he needed some time alone to digest what he had just learned, and could not wait to return to the surface.

"Oh, and regarding Entei-" Zoroark started, but was quickly interrupted.

"What? Who?" Lucario said as he turned around with an irritated expression, "I thought we were in a hurry. Can I go now?"

"... Fine," Zoroark replied with inhibition. She had hoped to talk to Lucario as Ethan the trainer for a while, but could tell he was in no condition for a casual chat. She had to carefully prepare herself in order to present the news to the legendary Celebi, knowing the fate of all Pokﾃｩmon might depend on the outcome.

Lucario left the building in a slump. Mind racing with thoughts of the future instead of past, he managed to convince Celebi to go talk to Zoroark. She stayed hidden however, as Zerobi carried her under the cloak when they went inside. The Whimsicott and Sigilyph seemed to have left, probably on their way to rally more troops. Finding himself on his own, Lucario lay down on the grass and exhaled deeply.

Alone with his thoughts, he thought about the many humans he used to know. Although most of his memories of them were but a blur, there were bits and pieces of recognition here and there. The cheerful Lyra, who had let him borrow her plastic shovel in kindergarten. Professor Elm, whose line of work he had forgotten but still had quite a bit of respect for. His own mother, who despite her many shortcomings had given him life and spurred him on like no other.

As time passed, he was beginning to notice a lot of things he had never thought much about before. The insanity of Brendan. The indifference of Red. The naivety of Blue. As severe as their flaws were, and despite the chaos and destruction wrought on by Deoxys, Lucario could not imagine any of them wanted Pokﾃｩmon completely eradicated from the world. Silver had said that they were all under his control, and his old rival did seem uninterested in Pokﾃｩmon and spiteful enough to actually want something like that. Even so, Lucario could not imagine the mindset of someone who truly wished to bring about an end to all Pokﾃｩmon life. Was it because he himself was a Pokﾃｩmon? Would he be as blind and uncaring had he still been human?

When they returned, Celebi was no longer hiding under the cloak. She floated like a dead fish in midair, a blank expression on her face. Zerobi looked slightly less stunned, and seemed to be carrying some flat and resilient material between her claws.

"How'd it go?" Lucario asked, already aware of the answer.

"Not bad," Zerobi replied casually, "Should've seen his face when Celebi said I was her sister!"

"I agree. Things most likely not as bad as they seem," Celebi said, her ghastly expression betraying her words, "But... Just in case... I suggest we take immediate action."

"So... Back to the Seafoam Islands?" Lucario muttered reluctantly, not too keen on seeing either Lugia or Mesprit again.

"That will take too long," Celebi said while shaking her head, replacing her defeated expression with that of determination, "No, I... I will head towards Zoroark and Mew at full speed, and assist them to the extent of my abilities."

"Mew?" Lucario repeated with confusion.

"Oh, right," Zerobi chimed in as she held up the tough paper in her hands, "We've got a map here of where we need to go. Sis says she can sense that Mew is heading right in that direction!"

Lucario quickly stood up grabbed the map, but did not really look at it. Ideas swirled around his head as a sliver of hope filled his chest.

"You think... Maybe she found out about this on her own?" Lucario asked, well aware of Mew's fantastic skill at gathering information thanks to her transformation ability, "She didn't come to see us because she was in a hurry?"

"I believe so," Celebi responded as a smile crept up on her face for the first time in what seemed like ages, "Mew is very resourceful!"

"... Hah!" Lucario exclaimed, returning her smile with one of his own, "And so are we! Zoroark needed powerful fighters, right? Come on, let's go and crack some eggheads!"

Although relieved to see both of them happy again, Zerobi sighed as she knew it was her role to bring them back to earth.

"Uh, Lucario?" Zerobi said while looking towards her sister for affirmation, "We can't fly. Celebi is much faster on her own, so we'd just be dead weight."

"No, no! You two are great!" Celebi protested before looking off to the side and lowering her voice slightly, "But... Yes... Considering the urgency of the situation..."

Huffing with annoyance, Lucario swiftly grabbed the map out of Zerobi's claws and began to examine it, determined not to let his chance for redemption and finally being able to confront Mew slip away.

"It's not too far," Lucario said confidently as he examined the map, glad to see he would not be crossing another continent on foot this time, "And I walk pretty fast, I'll be there in a week or two!"

"But Lucario, you are still traced by the legendary dogs, no?" Celebi pointed out with a concerned experssion, realizing Lucario had a shift in priorities since their first meeting, "Traveling alone is dangerous! I urged Zoroark to send out for Pikablu and the others, so I think we can handle things on our own. You will be much safer if you go back to the Seafoam Islands or No Man's Land, I doubt that anyone would object to-"

"Yeah, no," Lucario interrupted, getting tired of Celebi's long-winded speech, "I've told both Mew and Zoroark I'd help them, might as well at least try to keep promise. Zerobi, you coming?"

"... Well, it's located north, and I could use a break from all this heat..." Zerobi mumbled to herself when she was struck by a sudden thought. Rather, a perfect opportunity.

"You too? But why would you..." Celebi asked, but quieted down as Zerobi approached her. Leaning in to whisper something, Lucario was annoyed that even his own ultra-sensitive hearing was not enough to pick up more than a murmur from between the two sisters. Gradually, Celebi's expression of concern began to dissipate, being replaced by one of indescribable joy and exaltation.

"Oh! Yes! Of course!" Celebi exclaimed loudly while looking as if she had just been pumped full of morphine, "I will go on ahead, and you two can, well, go together!"

"... Huh?" Lucario exclaimed, bewildered by the small legendary's sudden change of attitude. Even Zerobi was surprised at the strong reaction, but glad to see her sister back to her normally cheerful state. Lucario was taken aback as the small legendary suddenly flew up to him and put her hands together, gazing at him with a strangely longing stare.

Celebi's spirits soared at the recent news, lifting her out of the depth of despair brought about by her recent misfortunes. Finally able to overcome her sorrows and put the past behind her, she recognized the feeling quite well from when she had befriended Pikablu. Between him, Zerobi and Lucario, she wondered if maybe she had a knack for attracting troublesome people.

"Listen... Things have been rather trying lately..." Celebi admitted as she calmed down, moving back to get a better look at both Lucario and Zerobi, "But know that no matter what is at stake, you two will always come first for me. If I sense a powerful enemy approach you, I will immediately turn and come back to help."

Lucario wanted to respond but was overwhelmed by something in the air, a strangely warm feeling emanating through his body. At that moment, Lucario realized that the pleasant radiance that had once surrounded Celebi had finally come back, not having noticed it was gone among all the turmoil they had gone through. It reminded him of their initial meeting, the moment of respite during battle against Lucas.

"You too, sis," Zerobi said with a display of confidence on her face, "Don't worry about getting captured again. If you do, we'll gather up a bunch of roughnecks and free you again."

"Yeah!" Lucario said in agreement, holding his fist in front of him, "Hell, that goes for both of you... Anyone tries to mess with you, they've got to explain themselves to the fist."

Zerobi looked at him for a moment before smiling and holding up her clenched claw right next to his hand.

"Damn straight," Zerobi repeated, looking towards Celebi expectantly.

"Damn... Straight..." Celebi whispered, the first word finding it difficult to leave her tongue. The small legendary carefully hovered over to them and reached out with a deceptively lengthy arm. They held their position for a while; a powerful feeling surged through them as they saw their hands up against one another like this.

Celebi felt blessed to finally be treated normally, despite being a legendary and having been so naive and distant in the past. She wanted to protect these two, save them from harm and watch them grow old together. No matter what happened in her own life, she felt it would be fine as long as she had friends and family to see it through with her.

Zerobi was glad to finally have those she could rely on, scarcely believing someone in this world had decided to stick by her despite knowing what she had done. She strengthened her resolve to never fall back to her old ways, not willing to betray the rare trust she had been given. Her spirit filled with hope, she felt it was time to take the next step and see just how far up the ladder to heaven goes.

Lucario thought the whole thing felt a little off, looking at a paw, claws and tiny three-pronged fingers next to one another. It was then he suddenly became aware that these were Pokﾃｩmon he was standing next to. For so long Pokﾃｩmon had been a strange and foreign concept to him, unnatural and confusing in every manner, yet here he was with two of them that he felt like he knew so well. The dark, slender and elegant creature with knives for hands, and the flying flower bud that beamed happiness... They were no longer a mystery. They were his friends.

"Good luck," Lucario said, pulling his hand back and nodding.

"Be safe," Celebi whispered and lifted higher, getting ready to take off.

"See you when we get there!" Zerobi exclaimed gleefully while raising her arm to wave goodbye. The two sisters shared an unspoken vow between each other as Celebi ascended straight up, soaring high into the sky. When she had reached what she considered to be a safe distance away from the ground to avoid being spotted, she began heading towards the new destination. Her presence faded into the horizon as Lucario and Zerobi began marching towards cold northern lands, hoping to hinder a catastrophe unlike anything ever seen before.