Breaking and entering was a lot more boring than it sounded.

Felis was certain the two of them could easily knock out guards and call it a day as they meandered their way into the building, but there were a couple problems with that.

The first, Guards had rotations.

Even if they were sloppily done by people who weren’t used to guarding, Felis and Sirius could hear them once every 20 minutes talking into a walkie-talkie or some sort of device on their person, reporting and usually joking around. If the people here were all 8th Road Roots, then he was 100% certain using their devices to communicate would only end in big questions.

The second of course, were Pokémon.

Only a few of the Pokémon were really intimidating, he saw one Lairon and maybe a couple Magneton’s, but everyone else had the basic Bidoofs, Shinx’s or Starly’s. But while getting into a fight with them was of course, a stupid idea, that wasn’t the issue. It was their senses.

Felis had spent the first hour testing the range of their senses, multiple times he’d sent pebbles scattering across the pavement, and while the Pokémon wouldn’t start yowling like a pack of dogs, the way their eyes and their ears shifted, as if alert to the sounds, had him backing out on any surprise attack.

So any takedowns with 8th Road Roots was off the table.

Chronos though, now that was a different ballgame.

“We’re not jumping Chronos.” Sirius stated flatly, not even bothering to hear his little brother out.

“I didn’t even say we were jumping Chronos.” Felis huffed.

“You were thinking it,” Sirius said. “I don’t think Chronos will let us join them if we get caught.”

They were roughly a few dozen meters out from where the 8th Road…fuck it, he’d just call them Roots from now on, why’d they have such a long name? Anyhow, they were roughly a few dozen meters away from the Roots, hidden behind a storage container while ensuring they were downwind.

“Well obviously,” Felis retorted. “Besides, they lose. Why would I join the losing side?”

“If I were to guess, it’s because their uniforms look better.”

“They do. God, they really fucking–oh.”

A thought just hit Felis as he imagined himself wearing the Chronos 3-piece suit.

“What if we just…wore the suits?”

“...Go on.”

“Part of why we got so far in Galactic was because of the Uniforms, right? We weren’t really questioned until the last stretch.”

“So if we have the suits and we stick to ourselves…”

“Nobody has any cause to stop us,” Felis finished with a grin. “Chronos are the top dogs here, so the Roots aren’t going to do shit. We get some suits, go in quick, get the evidence we need, go back out.”

“So now we just need to find uniforms.” Sirius stated.

A few moments of silence passed.

Sirius smacked him upside the head.

“What the fuck dude?”

“We’re not jumping Chronos.”

“I know! Geez.”

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Arun was thankful for Pokémon.

What should have been a tense search of wandering through buildings and searching each and every one was instead a less tense walk around Root property, taking note of buildings Root members entered and surmising their purpose.

Aken did the real scouting for them, the two brothers just had to keep out of sight.

“What do you think that building is?” Felis asked, pointing to one. Unlike the larger factory, this one looked more like a warehouse.

“Machinery, maybe?” Arun guessed. There were about half a dozen buildings that made up Root territory, all surrounding the factory.

He did his best not to stare at that place for too long. The more he did the more overwhelmed he began to feel, even with his senses still turned off. His mind feared that place, even though it could no longer accurately decide what was really going on within.

All he knew was that the building was bad news. And if they were going in, he wasn’t taking any chances.

“Aken’s back,” Felis whispered, giving his friend a scratch on the chin. “You find what we were looking for?”

Aken nodded in agreement, and Felis grinned, giving the ghost a hug. Arun kept his smile hidden as though he heard the small squawk of protest, he could see the self satisfied grin Aken wore.

They stalked their way through alleys and shadow, practiced footsteps keeping them silent as they worked their way through the maze of buildings. They’d done this song and dance a hundred times in the Before, the confidence of their skills echoing in the paths they’d taken.

Eventually they reached a small building, a squat thing with a hard exterior. It only had one door to its frame, and no windows at all that Arun could spot. He saw vents though, which meant there was air circulating from within.

It also meant there must be a way inside.

“Aken says he doesn’t have hands so he can’t open the door.” Felis reported.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

“Valor and Zubat then.” Arun said, tossing out the two balls.

Anticipation from Valor. Ready when you are.

Eagerness from Zubat. Purpose!

“Head up to the ceiling, find a way in and let us out from the inside.”

Valor nodded, and Zubat flashed her teeth to which Arun assumed was a nod. With the Pokémon gone, Felis and Arun split from one another, taking a perimeter around the building and keeping watch for any movement.

In the Before, Arun would have hoisted his brother up onto the roof before keeping watch while his brother did the work. But Pokémon (their Pokémon, at least) were smaller and more agile, meaning the job would only be easier for them.

“Scouting, infiltration, and fighting,” Arun thought, amused. “I can see why people don’t really do anything physical anymore, it’s easier this way.”

He wouldn’t let himself fall into that habit of course, but right now they couldn’t take any chances.

Arun caught sight of the door opening, signalling back to Felis by sending a wave of affirmation to Aken. They crept inside, closing the door with a quiet click.

“Hold a [Will-o-Wisp]. Keep it as low as possible.” Felis murmured to Aken. Arun had to blink a few times as his eyes began to adjust to the small purple light that the ghost emitted, before taking stock of the room around him.

He recognized the style. It was Hisuian, reminiscent of the houses in Legends Arceus. The floor was made up of simple reed carpet, half crunching, half sinking with every step he took. The walls were decorated with symbols he didn’t recognize, but they looked old all the same.

In terms of furnishing there was very little. There was a square futon in the center of the room, empty plates resting at two opposite sides. A single countertop with a sink made up the north wall, while a bathroom to the left nearly took up the entire side.

It was the closet within the right wall where they found their prize.

“That’s what I like to see.” Felis whistled, looking down the uniforms hung neatly. They must’ve been spares, a scribbled note was tucked in the breast pocket of one that said “Don’t get these dirty, just washed them - K”

Chronos Uniforms were made up of three parts. The first of course, was the outer suit that Felis would not stop salivating over. Seriously, they were clothes. Good looking ones sure, but clothes all the same.

The dark navy suit blended well with the darkness, complete with an even darker vest and a grey dress shirt. The material itself was heavier than he’d expected it to be, harder too. It felt less like fabric and more like rubber. Still, it felt nice to wear and they’d managed to find pieces that fit them.

The pants and shoes were much the same, the shoe though looking like leather felt softer on the inside and easy to run with. Not as good as the Galactic boots that had the auto-terrain adaptation, but Arun would place it at a close second.

And then there was the hat.

“That’s pretty badass.” Felis whistled, as Arun put on the overtly large hat.

“Assassin's Creed-like almost.” Arun grinned.

“Dude, they had hoods, not hats.”

“Yeah but watch this.” Arun’s fingers brushed the top of the brim, which was roughly just over half the size of his arm, tipping it low so it covered his eyes.

“...Awesome.”

Once Aken confirmed the coast was clear, both brothers strode outside with their hats tipped low and their Pokémon returned to their belts. Their goal was to be mysterious, to exude confidence. And though Arun loved his Pokémon, a Zubat and a Nuzleaf were probably not the most intimidating of Pokémon.

“Once we’re close I’ll need you to use your senses again.” Felis said in a low voice.

Arun chewed his lip in reluctance, “It’ll be hard for me to focus on anything once I do. This place is dark, Felis.”

“I noticed. But this is where they’re keeping the P.I. We’ll find her easily enough with your powers.”

“You’re doing the talking tonight then,” Arun sighed. “I’ll be too out of it for a sentence.”

“It’s cool, you look pissed off when you’re out of it, works in our favor.”

As expected, nobody gave them shit as they walked through the factory grounds. Pokémon that became alert at their presence were immediately hushed by their trainers. A few of the braver ones called out greetings, to which Arun didn’t respond, but Felis gave them a slight nod of acknowledgement.

And then they were at the factory.

Arun breathed in deep, before letting his senses expand far.

The first thing he felt was a whisper of screams that trickled into his ear. Then came the cold press of iron as they were pressed against his clammy skin. His mouth turned dry, and sheer hopelessness pressed down on his shoulders.

“Oh, sirs,” Someone called, a Root grunt by the Factory’s entrance. “We weren’t expecting visitors today.”

“Visitors?” Felis hummed, a small smile touching his face. “We’re partners here, aren’t we?”

“Oh–Oh yeah! Totally! It’s just, you know, we were told there’d only be 12 of you and so–”

“You were doing your job.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

Felis clapped the man’s shoulder slightly. “Well, you’re doing great work.”

The rest of the conversation Arun couldn’t make out, too occupied with trying to keep his mind from being overwhelmed by emotions and senses that weren’t his own.

The anger as he was ambushed in the wild–

No! Not him.

The fear as he was dragged to this place of–

It. Wasn’t. Arun.

The feeling of cold steel puncturing his skin.

Stop.

Warm blood drying across his body–

ENOUGH.

“Is uh…is your partner alright?” The Grunt asked.

“He’s just annoyed they have us pulling a double shift,” Felis laughed. “We’ll be heading inside. Keep up the good work.”

“Yes sir!”

As soon as they were inside Felis pulled him off to a corner, concern dancing in his eyes. “How bad is it?”

“Fucking. Awful.” Arun managed to grit out.

“Fuck it. Turn it off for now, we'll deal with it later.”

Arun shook his head, “You heard…him. 12 Chronos…Grunts. Have to…stay. Out of sight.”

“We can send Aken.”

“Too risky. Communication…inefficient.”

What Arun was trying to get across was that there was no long range communication between them and Aken. Aken could scout ahead for sure, but he’d need to fly back to report. That cost time, and Chronos were supposedly good at their job.

There was also the chance that one of them carried a Ghost type Pokémon on them as well.

“Fine,” Felis grumbled. “You better turn that shit off before it hurts you though.”

The interior of the place was dimly lit, revealing paved flooring and heavy machinery that would do well to keep them out of sight. The air was stale, as if even the very winds found the place repulsive, with heavy scents of iron and chemicals that felt sharp to breathe in.

Searching the place felt as if he was sifting through bile.

Arun kept his senses expanding outwards, trying to discover anything different from the polluted mess of emotions that seemed to suffuse every nook and cranny of the factory. More than once he’d have to recall his senses before they pressed on, the feeling of being overwhelmed nearly causing him to gag. But they continued their search, and eventually Arun found something different.

“Here. It’s all coming from here.” Arun said, staring at the rusted piece of machinery. It was a boiler, or an air duct of sorts, leading to an outside chimney that was currently inert. Felis chewed his lip as he inspected it, before taking a slow walk around and coming back with a shrug.

“Just a machine,” His brother said, knocking on it lightly. “Unless they’re cooking people inside like it’s a Bronze Bull?”

Arun shivered at the thought, placing his hand on the machine and trying to focus his thoughts.

There was no pain here, but there was fear. He was being taken, taken away from the light, taken into darkness. A thought, however brief, scared him to his core.

Would he ever see the outside again?

“You watched Breaking Bad, right?” Arun asked, looking the machine up and down.

“Yeah, why?”

“Look. Dust on the ground, what do you notice?”

“...Oh shit. The machine slides. Underground base?”

Arun nodded, “Guess so.”

They sent Aken to confirm, and the Ghost arrived shortly after with a nod of confirmation before being returned to his ball after a little convincing. Arun let himself sit for a minute, retracting his senses but keeping his ears sharp while he thought about their next move.

In all honesty, they could just report the location and call it a night, it was clear that Gloom and Omega had no intention of ransacking the place as of now. They did good work, they proved they were capable.

But…what he felt.

Arun wanted to be better.

Leaving behind anybody in a place that felt as terrible as this did...it...it would mean he never changed in the first place.

“Let’s find a way inside.” He decided, standing up once again.

Felis gave him a questioning look, “Are you sure? Soon as we open this I feel like everyone in this building is going to find out.”

“Then we’ll take them out.”

“Oh hell fucking yeah,” His brother grinned. "I knew you'd come around to jumping Chronos."

“I don’t mean knockouts.”

“Sure–wait, really?”

Arun’s face was hard as he scanned the area, letting himself drown in the cesspool of negativity that suffused the place. What could create such an atmosphere? Not even Galactic, with its captured Pokémon, bore any similarities to this. And this wasn’t even their main base, this was an offshoot for the Roots to get some extra cash.

Arun was going to be a trainer. He needed to start acting like one.

“Whatever is happening here, it’s bad. This isn’t like Remi, Felis. This is Al all over again. You’ve seen what that fucker was willing to do. These guys are the same, just more Al’s, stepping on innocents to push themselves up.”

Arun didn’t miss the way his brother’s face fell into a scowl at the mention of the man. But rather than leap at the chance to dispense some real justice, Felis’s hand instead trailed to the sheathed knife tucked into his waist. A silent look, asking for confirmation. For permission.

“No more Al’s.” Arun said.

“No more Al’s.” Pranav echoed.