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Charlie sat there alone in his room, staring out into the world outside shrouded in rain. The Charmander sat silently in his room with so much in his mind. The more the Charmander looked back to it, the more he pondered about it; his mind just opened itself to several different ideas. All his youth his father had reminded him to be the best in the academy, that it'd be shameful if he were to stain his reputation as the field marshal of their army. At first all went well, he proved to be superior compared to the others, until Jason the Riolu came along. At first the shy kid seemed average, as strong as everybody else, until sometime later where he just suddenly excelled at everything.

Ever since Jason began performing well, Ignatius, Charlie's father, felt threatened that his son wouldn't succeed his expectations and pressured him to just become better than what he was. He convinced Charlie that Jason wasn't someone he could trust, that he should be treated as the enemy. At first, Charlie obeyed his father without question, that all his dad wanted was for the good of the people. Now, however, he's beginning to wonder why his father told him to treat Jason that way. Now that he's gotten to know that idiot... he just can't get himself to hate him (Well, other than when he makes a fool of himself at the wrongest place and at the wrongest time).

The Charmander took a deep sigh as he watched his goofy Riolu friend, Jason, as he skipped around and spun merrily in the rain. Charlie squinted his eyes to make out what he was looking at, he really hoped that wasn't his partner dancing like a fool out in the pouring rain... it was.

"What is that idiot doing?" Charlie stared in confusion as he watched the Riolu do his thing. He watched in bewilderment when the riolu disappeared behind a building. "Ugh... that idiot will get himself sick at this rate..." he sat back on his chair and rubbed his fingers against his forehead. "Well... his mom IS the head of the medical corp... maybe he's always like this: not giving a shit whether he falls sick or not." His curiosity and irritation began building up as he stood back up and pressed his face against the window, but he couldn't see the Riolu anymore.

The Charmander soon found himself pacing around his room in deep contemplation. "Dad told me to keep Jason as my enemy... my rival... but why?" Charlie kept mumbling to himself, his hand placed on his chin like all those sophisticated smart people. "Why does dad hate Jason and his family? So my dad and his parents apparently got into an argument... about what?" he mumbled, recalling what Jason had told him a while ago. Charlie groaned in irritation as the questions just kept buzzing in his mind. He grit his teeth and did a mini tantrum with his arms, flailing them a bit in the air before he stopped. "Well, I ain't gonna learn anything by just pacing around." He said a bit irritated, making his way towards the door and leaving his room. "I'm gonna have to go do some research of my own."

The Charmander held his arms crossed, still quite confused with how he was to gain information as he walked through the hall. He's considered asking his father, but he was unsure as to how his dad would react. His dad would most likely repeat himself without much explanation, saying that Jason should be treated as scum. No, Charlie had to do some digging himself. He considered looking at the archives or the documents, which was probably the safest course of action at the moment although he was unsure as to whether or not he would be given access. Maybe he could ask his dad for access... no, his dad will ask why he wants access to the archives. Then again, his dad isn't a crazy person, he's a reasonable, just leader. He wouldn't just hate the Alexanders out of a whim. Maybe if Charlie asked the right questions, that's his best chance.

Charlie was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he hadn't noticed the pokemon coming his way until the two bumped into each other, knocking both of them backwards. "Ugh... sorry 'bout that." Charlie mumbled, rubbing his head in slight pain.

"Did I hear you right?" A cheerful-sounding, familiarly sly voice asked, probably the person Charlie had bumped into.

Charlie finally recognized the pokemon that he bumped into, the treecko he bumped into. "Oh, it's you, Leaf." Charlie mumbled bitterly. "What do you want?"

Leaf let out a chuckle of amusement, eyeing the Charmander deviously. "That's a funny question to ask considering we just literally bumped into each other." He pointed out.

Charlie let out a soft growl in anger. He didn't like having his authority or status challenged, and Leaf sure as hell was testing his limits. "Your room isn't on this floor, you have no business here."

"What if I was just visiting a friend?" The Treecko cooed, crossing his arms in front of him and his tail swaying behind. "Fine, before you blow a fuse, let me cut to the chase: I need your help."

Charlie scoffed, crossing his arms and eyed the Treecko menacingly. "Care to expound on that?"

Rather than feeling afraid or threatened, the Treecko actually let out a chuckle of amusement. "Wow, you almost got your dad's death stare." Leaf clapped his hands slowly and sarcastically. "Now all you need is the authority and power to back up that silly face."

"I don't have the patience for this, Anderson!" Charlie scolded, the flame on his tail growing brighter in irritation.

"Would you just calm down, Charlie?" Leaf asked. "I'm just here to ask for your help, you're the only one I can turn to right now."

Charlie was a bit hesitant at first. If anything, Leaf was a lot harder to tolerate compared to Jason. Leaf enjoyed challenging the Charmander, in contrast to Jason who just minded his own business. Regardless, he decided to listen to what Leaf had to say. Charlie was still a decent and sensible individual, just bent into prioritizing his duties. "Alright, what do you want?"

"I need access to the archives." Leaf answered, leaning against the wall casually as he looked at the Charmander in the eye with seriousness. "I overheard you mumbling about Jason and wanting to get into the archives, and I want in."

The Charmander was held aback by what he heard. "I was mumbling?"

"You didn't know?" Leaf asked, somehow managing to maintain a professional expression even though his insides wanted to burst out laughing. "Anyway, I want to know more about Jason and I thought that we could work together."

Charlie took in everything that he was told, nodding once the Treecko had finished talking. "Why?"

"Well, I figured two heads are better than one. Right?" Leaf let out a chuckle. "You and I working together would speed up the process."

"I meant..." Charlie said in a loud tone, making sure he had the Treecko's attention before he continued. "Why would you want to know more about Jason? Aren't you his friend or something, don't you know everything there is that Jason knows?" Charlie's stern expression cut through Leaf's mask of confidence. The Charmander could tell that Leaf had an alternate motive, that he wasn't there to learn more about Jason. He didn't like the thought, but his gut and instict just screamed out "conspiracy" or "treachery".

The Treecko could tell what the Charmander was thinking. Charlie doubted him and the situation was taking a turn for the worst. Leaf stood away from the wall and faced the Charmander. "Look, don't get the wrong idea..."

"Why?" The Charmander interrupted, maintaining his death stare at the Treecko. "Because you're asking me for access to the archives? Because you were spying on me and Jason?"

"I wasn't spying on you." Leaf said.

"I don't mumble, Anderson." Charlie pointed out. "I never said anything about going to the archive while I was outside my room, meaning you somehow heard me while I was inside. Now I ask again: what is it that you really want?"

Leaf remained silent. He didn't bother trying to think of an excuse anymore, the Charmander got him already. "Fine, I admit it... we were spying on you."

Leaf's choice of words struck the Charmander as odd. "We?" the Charmander asked. "What do you mean -" Charlie hadn't even finished his sentence when he uttered a gasp, his eyes widening and the color of his irises fading as he fell to the ground unconscious.

The Treecko stared at the unconscious Charmander with a blank expression on his face. He slowly walked over to the unconscious Charmander, kneeling down beside him and poking his head. "Welp, he's out cold. Good job John." The treecko mumbled sarcastically as a Haunter materialized and became visible.

"You ratted me out!" the Haunter scolded though more amused rather than upset.

"We needed to gain his trust if we want access to the archive." The Treecko sighed, grabbing the unconscious Charmander's arm and picking him up. "C'mon, help me bring him back to his room."

"No problem." The Haunter jovially said as he morphed into a sort of more gaseous state and entered the Charmander's mouth. Charlie's body convulsed a bit before its eyes opened, a wide grin across his face. "There, now we won't have much trouble bringing his body to his room." The cheery voice that escaped Charlie's mouth was an eerie mix of his and John's, in addition to the sort of echoing and hoarseness to it.

Leaf just stared at the possessed Charmander, disturbed inside and freaked out. "It's really freaky whenever you possess a guy, John... you know that right?"

The Charmander uttered a chuckle, its mouth spasming oddly at the attempt. "Oh... I haven't quite mastered it yet..." The Charmander's hand moved over to his jaw, massaging it a bit. "Anyway, c'mon, let's continue this discussion while I admire my body before we drop it off at his room."

The Charmander then strolled awkwardly towards the direction of Charlie's dorm room. The Treecko just stared awkwardly at the sight, unsure as to how he would react to it, as he stood up and followed. "Rebecca disabled the security... right?"

"If by disabled, you mean she coated the cameras with an illusion, then yes." John spoke through the Charmander's body... which was now drooling a bit...

The Treecko couldn't help but stare at the bizarre, zombie-like Charmander that strolled across the hall. "Um... when you get the hang of that... would it look... normal?" the Treecko asked.

"Yep." John answered gleefully. "My dad does it to sabotage the enemies... why are we doing this again? Trying to gain access to the archives and all..." his expression and tone was hard to understand, but the Treecko assumed the Haunter was concerned.

"It's because they told us to." The Treecko answered, turning his gaze to the rooftop as he looked back to it.

"I don't understand why they can't do it themselves." The possessed Charmander's voice shuffled between a decent-ish John voice, a deep, hoarse demonic voice, and the Charmander's own. "I mean... we're just kids. There's a high possibility that we'll get caught compared to them."

Leaf knew the Charmander... er... Haunter had a point; they were just kids and complete amateurs compared to them. "Well... an order is an order and we have to do what we can to accomplish it." His voice sounded quite convincing, but even he had his little doubts. "And besides, they probably have their hands full with other things."

The Charmander (Haunter) turned to face the Treecko... baring the creepiest face Leaf has ever seen: with both eyes wide open, the left of which is twitching a bit, the irises were glowing a faint shade of red while the sclera was a sickly shade of purple. "What other things?" there was no conflict between the different voices anymore, only the deep, freaky hoarse voice surfaced as he asked the question.

The Treecko's eyed the poor Charmander curiously. "Um... are you sure the effects aren't permanent?" Leaf asked. "I think you're breaking him."

"I am?" John gasped as the Charmander's mouth gaped wide open and a purple gas cloud came rushing out, slowly forming into the familiar form of the Haunter. Leaf immediately leapt to catch the Charmander's body before it could hit the ground and he began to examine whether John had permanently left a mark on poor Charlie.

The Treecko ran his fingers around the Charmander's body, examining it for any abnormalities. He checked for bumps, misconnections between bones or any physical change whatsoever, especially around the head seeing as that's the part that appeared the most deformed while the Haunter possessed him. He opened the Charmander's eye with two fingers, and sighed with relief as the colors slowly returned to normal. "Well, at least it wasn't permanent... you should really be more careful when possessing someone."

The Haunter nodded sheepishly, embarrassed or ashamed of what he almost did. "Well... it's hard to practice without a test subject..." the Haunter's disembodied hands then moved to carry the unconscious Charmander. "C'mon, let's get him back to the room the old fashioned way." He mumbled poutingly as the Charmander was lifted off the ground.

"Don't be a big baby." The Treecko said as he slowly rose to his feet. "His room's right behind you."

"Oh, would you look at that." the Haunter mumbled as he phased through the wall, bringing the Charmander with him, forcing the Treecko to follow behind.

The Treecko closed the door behind him and eyed the Charmander, which the Haunter had just placed on the bed, making sure that the Charmander hasn't woken up. "Well, let's go... find a way into the archives then." He said as he turned and left the room.

The Haunter stayed a moment longer in Charlie's room, thinking twice about the order given to them. He looked back to Leaf's words: how they probably have their hands full... but... what could they have their hands full on? The questions hung onto the Haunter as he slowly phased through the door only to get caught in a grass knot that wrapped around his body tightly. "What the--"

"Shh..." The Sceptile in front of him hushed, behind the Sceptile stood Leaf looking quite calm though depressed.

"What's going on?" The Haunter asked in a hushed tone as he slowly phased through the grass knot. "We were just on our way to the archives."

"That won't be necessary anymore." The Sceptile answered, waving his finger to dismiss the grass that slowly sank into the floor. "I'll handle that from here, the three of you get going now. I guess I underestimated Avalon's security to leave it to you three."

"We were caught?" The Leaf asked.

"Yep." The Sceptile answered casually. "Don't worry though, I got it covered. I've sent your friend Rebecca home already, you two can go as well. Also, you shouldn't have involved Charlie over there. I specifically asked that you three be undetected during the operation. Did I not?"

"I know, sir..." the Treecko answered. "I just assumed that, with our interests coinciding... we could get Charlie to help us."

They were silent for a moment, the two young ones a bit hesitant about leaving so soon. They were assigned to gather data on Jason and here they are being asked to leave. Then again, the mission did seem a bit extreme, even for them. To break into Avalon's archive, the most powerful military force on earth (that is the title they hold though there are underground organizations that have proven a challenge for Avalon)... that's got to be a task assigned at least to the more experienced people. The two decided that they shouldn't feel ashamed, even their superior admitted that he underestimated Avalon's security. They soon slowly made their way down the hall, to wherever they wanted to go.

"Sir, may I ask a question?" the Treecko said, stopping on his tracks and turning to face the Sceptile.

"You may." The Sceptile answered. "But I also have to option to not answer it."

The Treecko shuddered at the Sceptile's grin and tried to gulp down his insecurity. "Sir... why Jason? Why go through all this trouble to learn more about Jason?"

The Sceptile closed his eyes and nodded calmly. It was this odd atmosphere that surrounds the Sceptile that worries the Treecko. The Sceptile's always so calm and happy, you could never tell whether or not he was furious. "I knew you'd be asking that. I'm actually surprised that you didn't ask when we first assigned the mission to the three of you. Well, I guess we were a bit strict with the whole 'follow without question' thing..."

The Sceptile's line of thought trailed away, and the Treecko could feel that. Leaf felt that the Sceptile was either really distracted, or he's trying to divert the Treecko's attention. "Um... sir?"

"Hm?" the Sceptile hummed with a smile as he turned to the Treecko. "Oh right, your question."

The Sceptile's chuckling made the Treecko feel nervous. 'What the heck?... this guy's crazy...'

"I know you care for him, Leaf, but we specifically told you to avoid forming attachments and relations." The Sceptile's answer was not what the Treecko had hoped for. "Still, I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you this: we're only after Jason's background, the basic information. Ignatius was rather... uncooperative with giving me access to the archives even with my rank."

"Sir Ignatius only lets a handful of people into the archives... and even less have access to it via computer." The Treecko added.

"Exactly." The Sceptile nodded at the Treecko's statement. "Don't worry kiddo, put your heart at rest. Jason won't be harmed by what we are doing. Truth be told, we aim to keep him safe."

Curiosity tugged against the Treecko like a vice grip. "Keep him safe? From what? What is Jason anyway and why is he that important?" the questions just rushed out of the Treecko's mouth but was put to a stop by the Sceptile's raising of hand.

"I gave you permission to ask ONE question." The Sceptile said with a chuckle, placing his hand on the Treecko's head and walking with him towards the exit. "Don't fret, you'll have your answers in due time. Meanwhile, keep an eye on Jason for us, m'kay?"

So many questions buzzed inside the Treecko's mind... but he's gonna quiet them down for now. Whatever this was all about... and why Jason was the center... all of it had to wait. For now... "Yes, sir."