Desperate Gamble

Okay, bear with me here: This chapter is a little on the slow side. Chapter 4 to follow soon after, and it promises to be much more exhilarating.

Chapter 3: Falling Short is Par for Course...

Soft was the last thing that the young man expected as consciousness slowly returned to him. The flood of memories of pain and fear caused an involuntary shudder to travel up his spine as light once again became a factor of his world. Opening his eyes slowly and savoring the feeling of being alive let several things simultaneously become apparent: He was not in the clothing he had passed out in, and he might have been recaptured.

The adrenaline was quick to take hold as these thoughts battled for dominance regarding how to handle the situation. Heart racing and muscles tensing it was little wonder that he sprang ungracefully from where he lay and onto hard flooring the moment he heard a nearby noise.

Collecting himself enough to roll over and open his eyes, the young man came face to face with two red orbs that had a metallic sheen about them. Arms and legs began to flail as he attempted to back peddle from the sudden and intrusive object, but the only response he got for his struggles was a series of light chuckles.

Finally taking in what was before him, the idea of panic suddenly vacated his mind. Upon the floor knelt a petite female creature, definitively female in nature and outwardly appearing to be completely harmless. Beside her was a trey of odd yet familiar looking foods and a glass of water. A smile played across her face and she picked up the trey only to extend it towards the flustered outsider.

No words had been spoken during the exchange, but a tacit understanding was present that the food was intended for him. As the college student extended a shaky hand to take the trey hurried footsteps began to sound off from somewhere above the pair. It was now that the failed hero looked about him and realized the complete lack of gravity regarding his situation.

Scattered about the room were various books and papers, hastily stuffed into places that, upon closer inspection, they did not quite fit into. Dark beige walls complimented the polished wood flooring, and a small glass table finished the look of a rather untidy study room.

Heart settling and food trey still being offered to him, the young man finally felt safe for the first time since before Giratina had appeared before him. Taking the food trey lightly he settled back upon the couch he had apparently been resting upon. Trey in lap and stomach growling, it took everything he could muster to prevent himself from binging.

For lack of better words, the food before him looked plain. Something resembling a rounded sandwich was accented with a few slices of indigenous fruit. Deciding that everything was edible despite looks or taste, the young man reached for the sandwich without hesitation, only to be stopped by a pair of feet heralding the entrance of another being.

Long blond hair, pulled into a neat pony tail accentuated a pair of sharp the yet friendly eyes of the woman they were attached too. She looked young, potentially more so than he was, but everything about her screamed that she had traveled further, and seen more than most people would consider possible in her life. Her skin was lightly tanned from a life outdoors, her posture was prominent enough yet relaxed to belay a calculating and confident attitude, and her eyes moved rapidly to take in everything around her.

He froze.

Unsure of what to say, or how to say it, the young man immediately sat straight up. Such speechlessness was uncharacteristic of the often verbose college student, and it troubled him greatly. His mental hick-up subsided though when she spoke.

“I'm glad to see your up finally. You gave us quite a scare.”

Her speech was warm and inviting, holding a laid back air about it that cast aside all of his defenses. Immediately the growing lump in his throat subsided, and he found his face capable of emoting properly again. All of this was of great relief to him until he again realized he was not in his original clothes, and was in fact wearing nothing at all aside from the underwear he had gone into the river with. Blushing furiously and fidgeting with the trey in his lap, words finally came to mind.

“Given what I went through, I'd say I'm lucky to be alive. Thanks bringing me... here. You don't happen to have my clothes do you?”

Directly approaching an issue had always seemed to fit more properly in human contact. Never one to dance around wording, the young man came out and asked what he needed to ask. The result was better, and yet worse than he had expected though as she pointed toward the armrest at the end of the couch.

Ears now boiling and red from his inattentiveness, the young man again looked at his hostess as if asking her an unseen question, one she readily understood, Turning on heel she faced away from him as he made to move the trey, stopping once again when he noticed the red orbs still smiling up at him from the sitting creature. Several moments of frenzied pantomiming later, and he was sure that no one would watch him don his well worn clothes from his old life.

Setting the trey upon the floor with a enough volume to indicate his actions, Giratina's chosen hero stood with clothes now in hand. Stealing glances at the women to ensure his continued privacy, he donned the soft, blue, fabric pants, again letting the elastic waist and legs conceal him in a more modest manner. The shirt he held was less of an issue to him and was set aside for the time being. Sitting back down and grabbing the food trey yet again, he let a small, throaty cough escape to indicate his preparedness. Taking the initiative the woman spoke again as the first bite of sandwich entered his mouth.

“Like I was saying, we were shocked to find you washed up on the beach, unconscious as you where. What did you do? Jump off of the dam and go over the falls for fun?”

Processing her words for a moment while he chewed, the recently clothed man decided upon a temporary explanation to stem further, and more difficult questioning until he had finished his meal.

“I fell in, and was bounced against a few rocks in the rapids before losing consciousness. If you hadn't found me I'd probably be dead by now. How long was I out?”

She sat down and mulled the answers over in her head, and looked at the pale non-human now resting with her back against the base of the couch. An oppressive silence filled the room before the womans expressions soured slightly.

“Since we found you, you've been out for eleven hours. It's eight thirty now, but thats not an issue. Your lie is. You didn't fall in the river. Your hiding something.”

Dumbfounded was one word that could be used to describe him at that moment. Terrified would have been another. This woman had never met him before, and had never spoken with him, and yet knew with a great deal of expressed certainty that he had mislead her. Either she was smart or...

It hit him like a school of piranha hit their prey. Shock had only begun to register before he began speaking with such speed that he began tripping over himself.

“It wasn't my intention to lie to you, okay, it might have been, but you've got to understand were I'm coming from here! I don't even know where I am, let alone you, and what I'm doing, was doing, is, was my own business!”

She laughed. She laughed a nervous laugh that first time thugs usually make when they think about what their job might entitle moment by moment. The laugh she used was something reserved for someone with an idea that death is close, and that did nothing to help the exasperated man sitting before her.

Breathing rapidly and beginning to color slightly, the panicked hero decided to put the final nail in his coffin.

“I... I'm sorry for that outburst. It's been a long two days, and I wouldn't even know were to begin. I'll tell you after I've had some time to sort out everything myself.”

An honest promise like that was enough to stave off the feeling of death hanging in the room, but the result of keeping that promise could spell disaster. Nonetheless words of a sincere nature had been spoken, and the woman seemed to pick up on this.

Immediately she brightened again as if a switch had been flicked in her head. She smiled in a relaxed manner and rearranged herself comfortably on the couch. Now she eyed him with a new kind of knowledge related hunger.

“That tattoo is pretty interesting, when did you get it?”

The mouthful of sandwich almost ended up lodged in his lungs at that point as he struggled momentarily to find an appropriate answer to her question. After thoroughly chewing and swallowing his food, he said the only thing that he could think of.

“I'll tell you later, it kind of ties in with my story.”

Leaning over the pale creature between them with an almost childish sense of wonder showing in her eyes, she showed nothing but rapturous curiosity towards her visitor. The anticipation she was feeling was painfully building within her, and with every fiber of her being she resisted the urge to deluge him with questions.

Now becoming uncomfortable with the attention he was receiving, the young man decided to direct the conversation into less intense and personal areas. Grasping at ideas, one finally emerged as being appropriate and potentially useful.

“What exactly do you do for a living, Miss....”

With no real knowledge of the world he now inhabited, he had to begin somewhere. As for the gamble he had played at, it had been successful. She began to positively glow with pride as she had apparently been mentally rehearsing what she was about to say for it flowed forth with practiced ease.

“I can't believe you don't know who I am! I was all over the television and radio a few weeks ago because of what I did!”

The indignation in her voice was difficult to see through. The failed hero was now under the impression that he had truly offended her, but she continued her speech rather than let him speak.

“I was the top ranked trainer at this years Pokemon League Championship, and I managed to make it halfway through the Elite Four! Yet, somehow you haven't heard of me, the spectacular Kira Emlin!”

She was milking him for as much of his praise as she could, and he knew it. She had probably been from some back woods town and managed to grab her fifteen minutes of fame, thus it had all gone to her head. Again, the outsider was forced to wait as she continued her rant of indignity.

“You must have been really out of touch with society if you missed something as big as the Championships, and now I really want to hear your story so I can get your excuse as well!”

Now she was back into uncomfortable grounds. Pushing the conversation as strongly as she had, the fiery blond had managed to answer his question and steer her way back to what she considered important. The best response he could give was a pitiful groan and a short, terse reply.

“You'll get my story later, now there's a sandwich here requiring my attention.”

Grabbing the near tasteless dish again, he took a rather exaggerated bite to punctuate his statement. Dissatisfied with how he had handled the situation, the young man looked back at the Kira and sighed. After finishing the bite he had in his mouth he spoke carefully.

“I've had a long few days, so please be patient a little longer. When I tell you how I wound up drifting along like I was, I hope you'll understand whats going through my head.”

Satisfied with the humble apology she sat back and let him continue to eat, only to have her attention suddenly pulled to a point behind him. A small window that had previously been overlooked was now home to a pair of intense eyes that were attached to an even more severe face. Similar to a disgruntled snort, the bird faced creature expelled a burst of smoke before gesturing to its stomache and moving quickly out of sight.

A rather bemused expression settled on Kira's face as she deftly stood and gestured to the two other occupants of the room.

“Come into the kitchen, we can continue our talk there while I prep some food for my Pokemon.”

That weird word again. Pokemon. It was something that was alien in reference, yet held a familiar feeling about it. The hidden base in the cliffs. That was were he had first heard the term. Hiding his puzzlement, the man attempted to act as casually as possible as he entered the cozy kitchen and joined the pale skinned female at the table. Kira was already hard at work mixing and warming a dozen different foods. Neither of them looked up as the door entered, but due to the volume of unknowns about him, the young man looked to the source of the noise only to find himself wishing he was dreaming.

A pair of tall and thin figures walked into the room. The taller of the two was the red feathered bird-creature from before, but now her true nature took shape. Standing tall enough to crowd the door, the aggressive looking alien had a proud look in it's angular eyes to accentuate the rigid posture it maintained. Its' companion was in stark contrast upon further examination. While the taller of the two looked rather muscular, the second was lanky, even starved looking. Standing more than a head shorter, the second of the pair bore the face of a mustached fox, thus causing it to look wise. Tan fur and a strange set of lavender pads completed the bizarre look.

Barely holding his mouth closed and his eyes neutral, the youth wished he had been prepared more extensively before being cast into this strange place. Watching the two new occupants of the room take seats around the table three things became apparent. The fox looking one had some form of deep connection with the pale skinned female that had been present since he had regained consciousness. This was observed in the way it slide its' seat closer towards her, and leaned forward in a defensive manner, thus it had effectively put itself in a position to defend the contented female.

The second observation was that neither of the new arrivals had taken their eyes off of him during their entrance, and even after settling around the table they had not once moved their gaze from him.

The final observation was that the bird type was not only looking at him for observational purposes, but it was openly glaring at him. A mix of aggressive emotions that where barely held in check boiled forth in its' gaze.

As if sensing the tension in the room Kira looked back at the new arrivals and spoke as calmly as she could.

“Okay you two, behave while I finish readying your meals. He's not going to harm, or even attempt to harm anyone here. So let him be, got it?”

Her commands were met with seemingly compulsive obedience. The feathered, tall figure leaned back in it's chair and crossed its' arms, the look of contempt never left but the posture was not of one someone prepared to spring across a table in a bout of violence. Her companion upon entry simply pulled the female into an embrace and sat with her simply looking into her eyes. The sight was haunting in its' own right as after a few minutes both looked at the alienated human before turning back to each other. Had Giratina not demonstrated his ability to mentally communicate then the idea of telepathic speech would have been completely dismissed by the young man.

As the minutes dragged by the scene did not change, and the only noises were from the lighthearted human girl tending to the various food items in need of preparation, and the chairs occasionally groaning as weight shifted upon them. Just before the alien of a human had succumbed to the intimidating stares of the red feather humanoid at his side, his host completed her task and presented three plates of steaming food.

As if intending to introduce the individuals gathered around the table, Kira intentionally addressed each by name as she doled out the food.

“Alakazam, how are Nidoking and Tyranitar doing?”

Upon placing the bowl in front of the fox faced “Pokemon” it shrugged and spoke fragments of its own name. This habit was confounding to the outsider, and he was sure that the creature was now toying with him. This theory was shattered almost moments later as the female that the fox creature clung to was addressed.

“Gardevoir, thanks for helping me get the laundry done earlier, you were a big help!”

At this the pale skinned female grinned widely and chirped its own name in response. Two consecutive responses of nothing but the addressed creature's name came as a huge let down to the young man. He had expected either beastly grunts or proper speech, but not a perverse in-between that had been demonstrated twice. Mentally crossing his fingers in hopes of a different reply, he forgot one important fact: The last creature had still not taken its' eyes from him.

“Blazekin, sweetie, you need to ease up on him. I know your not fond of strangers, but give him a chance at least.”

Nothing. The red creature said nothing. It simply took the plate before it, and began picking pieces of meat in it talon like hands. Each piece of meat met with a similar fate as the creature tore each piece in its' powerful beak. The symbolism was not lost upon the guest; however, as he understood the unspoken words: “I don't trust you.”

This creature, now identified as being female, would be problematic if it turned violent. Being as close as he was to her, the outsider could tell that Blazekin was a bundle of well trained muscle underneath her feathered features. She was no pushover, of that he was sure.

Kira momentarily left the room without announcement only to return minutes later with an additional seat. Sitting across from the still glaring Blazekin, she wore a smile that would have bent the wills of any man careless enough to let her into their life. She still lingered on the story that she had yet to extract from her charge, and her impatience had gotten he best of her.

“I've been doing some thinking...”

She was going to ask, and he knew it. He would tell her if only to get her to stop asking.

“...about your clothes. When I washed them I noticed that neither of the companies were familiar to me, and I'm well traveled enough to have seen my fair share of clothes. Where are you from?”

Though he had not expected this question in particular, it fit close enough to what he had expected that there one way or another the question would get answered.

“I know I told you that I wanted to wait, but I think it's time I told you what I've been through.”

Her elation was so great that it seemed to oppress all other emotions in the room. Even the outsider could not help but grin at her overwhelming response. So he began.

“I think it would be best if I started with the end. I know it doesn't seem likely, but you won't even remotely believe me if I start from the beginning. So, here goes. When you found me I was bruised but not quite broken. My unconsciousness was due to severe exhaustion from having been up and highly active for over twenty hours. My entire down stream trip is blank to me, so I'm obviously going to skip that.”

She nodded and rolled her hands, an apparently universal symbol for him to continue his story. Breathing deeply and looking at the other occupants of the room, he was both satisfied and disconcerted to have three pair of eyes filled with anticipation, and one of contempt trained solely upon him.

“Truthfully I did jump into the river, to clear up an earlier lie. I was trapped between some hulking, gray, human-like creature, and a guard rail to a balcony. I was at risk for capture or a continued brutal beating, so I chose to jump instead...”

Before he could continue his story further, Kira gave a snort and crossed her arms. Looking inquisitively at her, the failed hero saw that she was unhappy with his story already.

“How is it that you've never seen a member of the Machop family? Did you hit your head on your way into the river? “Gray, Human-like...” It was obvious that it was one of the forms of that species. If you fought a waist high dude then it was Machop, if it was about as tall as you or I, then it was Machoke, and if it had 4 arms and was massive, then it would have been a Machamp. Now which was it.”

Pondering her statement for a moment before speaking again, the hero processed what he had just learned. There was much he had yet to learn about this strange new world.

“Okay, I was trapped between the railing of a balcony, which, now that I think about I should have elaborated on... Anyway, I was trapped on this balcony staring down this woman's Machoke, and it had been thrashing me pretty badly, so I had no choice by to jump.”

Again an interruption from the young blond who had been playing the gracious role of “host”.

“You fought a Machoke face-to-face without any help from your Pokemon, and lived?”

Pondering this statement, the hero was rapidly learning about the importance of Pokemon, whether he knew it or not. Either way, he continued with his tale.

“Yes, I took on a Machoke in hand-to-hand combat, and was able to limp away. Now, regarding how I got to the balcony, I was on the run from the security teams that was hunting for me. After hours of trying to find a way out of the building I found the office of the woman in charge. Why was I running for hours through a complex building, being hunted by security? Because I was sent there to destroy a piece of machinery. Before you ask, no, I do not know what the machine does, I only know that it was important to them, and dangerous to everyone. I managed to make it into the room with the machine, but due to complications could not damage it. As for who owned the building, I never found out.”

This was enough to set of the young woman again. Her look of scorn was constantly growing, and now she looked beyond skeptical.

“How is it you were tasked with destroying a machine, but weren't informed about who owned it?”

Shaking his head slowly, the young man replied as best he could given what he had seen and heard during his time in the facility.

“I'll get to that in a moment, but the guards were all wearing black uniforms with red “R”s on the chest. Do you know anything about a group like that?”

Her gasp was audible, and her eyes betrayed bewilderment.

“Team Rocket? But they were destroyed years ago?”

Now it was time to cap off his short retelling of how he had arrived in her home. He braced himself for the worst, but hoped vehemently for the best possible outcome.

“Now comes the hardest part of everything for you to believe. The only proof that any of this is true, is the tattoo covering my right arm, and my clothes, so bear with me. I was tasked to destroy the machine by a being known as Giratina. He is a multidimensional being who summoned me to his realm to aid him in destroying the source of a tear in all causality... reality if you would. He summoned me from a parallel world, one with humans much like this planet, and asked me to act on his behalf. Knowing that one out-of-place nineteen year old male wouldn't be capable of doing the job under normal circumstances, he game me this tattoo. The tattoo itself contains a portion of his power and allows me to manipulate my body to give me an edge in self defense. Using the tattoo is hard on me though and that is why I passed out after jumping into the river.”

Feeling as though he were before a firing squad, the young man sat upright and held an expression of the utmost seriousness. The young lady beside him was a different picture all together. She wore an expression so incredulous that she might have hurt herself if she had maintained it longer than she did.

“You're telling me, that you are from another world, and where summoned by THE Giratina to help save all of existance? Now I can understand why you were hesitant to tell me your story. You hit your head harder than I thought.”

In the end, the most reliable form of proof is physical. Standing before his audience abruptly enough to topple the chair, the young man displayed how ready he was to remove any doubt from the minds of those present. What he had not counted on was the ever expansive distrust of the red bird at his side. Even before the chair had hit the floor she had bolted upright alongside him. Now both were standing at their tallest, and much to his chagrin, she was taller if only by a few inches.

There was a moment when no one breathed, and then he made the riskiest move of his day so far. He moved. Pushing aside the fallen chair, and stepping away from the imposing creature, both never broke eye contact until he was several steps away. Then he looked back to the table. He had their undisclosed attention, and any preparation would have been for naught.

He pressed the shield emblem on his forearm.

A split second later silvery metal sprang forth from the pores of his body and encased him in a shell of nigh impervious steel. They had been implying a want of truth, and he had given them what they had wanted. Even the imposingly tall avian faced Blazekin was left with her mouth hanging open. Several moments of staring where finally broken when he spoke again, his voice reverberating marginally due to his body's temporary non-organic coating.

“This morning I killed men to survive. I fought a creature that you claim should have killed me in one on one combat. And while my story was a stretch to believe, I am proof that you are not alone in the entirety of reality. My name is Roy Hampton, and I was brought here on behalf of Giratina.”