With Valor on his shoulder Arun felt somewhat more at peace, even as they approached the centre of the building’s headquarters, where more Grunts patrolled and eyed them warily. His thoughts wandered to the presence that nearly overwhelmed him outside the medical bay. It was something he never experienced before, it wasn’t like he didn’t have control, no. He understood every action was still his, but that’s what made him afraid.

He wanted to do it.

At that point in time, it was the only thing that mattered, the only thing that he felt would bring him happiness. He thought it akin to setting a plate in front of a man who had been starving for weeks, and telling him not to eat. Logic and reason held him back, but he was glad the presence vanished when it did, otherwise…he grimaced, it would not have been fun explaining that.

Valor’s soft radiation of warmth drew him away from those thoughts, and he instead wondered just who Valor’s previous trainer was, and how he’d ended up here in the first place. The way his partner recalled the past…he ‘spoke’ as if they were already dead, like they had been hunted down. Arun sympathised with that part, being on the run was not fun, being captured was probably worse.

“You know.” Pran said, idly pinching Aken’s cheeks as they walked behind Winton, “I noticed that literally everyone wearing a lab coat’s got baggy eyes. What’s up with that?”

“Understaffed.” The scientist replied curtly, “Now be quiet, we’re almost there.”

“Damn, you guys are really underappreciated.” His brother continued, shaking his head, “Studying Robotics, Biomechanics, and whatever that energy thing is, shit they’d pay you big in Canada.”

Winton said nothing, though Arun noted in amusement that his shoulders seemed to straighten up with pride. They really did work miracles, even if teleportation was a god awful thing to experience, they were still teleporting. If only it was a little smoother, Arun might’ve appreciated it more.

The hallway led to a set of giant metal double doors, imprinted with the ‘G’ logo he’d seen on every other place of importance. Winton went over to the side where a keypad lay, pressing a bright green button.

“Admin Saturn.” He said, his tone professional, “I’ve brought the recruits.”

A pause, and with a slight hiss, the two double doors slid open, revealing a bustling room inside. Arun couldn’t help but freeze as he saw the interior, it was like a scene straight out of star wars. A large table dominated the center, where a holographic map of Sinnoh spun slowly in place, consisting of all the cities and tiny towns that made up the region. Around them, Galactic Grunts were busy at work moving to and from the different monitors on the side, each displaying locations and coordinates that Arun presumed had Galactic Operatives present.

“Holy fuckin’ shit.” He heard Pranav whisper, “This was definitely not in the game.”

“Come in.” A voice said, the hologram disappearing from view, revealing the Admin Saturn.

Arun never paid much attention to Saturn the night before, being more busy with trying to avoid having Weaville’s claws from piercing his chest, but the man was similar to what he’d seen from the game. Taller than him, though not as tall as Pran, Saturn had sharp features and a lean build, his Galactic vest was similar to the ones they currently wore, but was worn over a black body suit instead of the standard grays the other wore.

The biggest oddity of course, was his hair. Arun had been to conventions before, anime was one of his biggest hobbies before the nukes hit. He’d also seen people trying, and failing to wear hair colours that just weren’t natural. Here though, not only did the hair fit the Admin, it added to his features, accentuating his already noticeable sharp look.

Winton led them around the counter, sending waves of comfort to Valor who seemed to grow more and more anxious in the proximity of so many Galactic members. His little buddy stood tall, but nuzzled in a little closer to his neck as they closed in behind Saturn.

They weren’t the only ones there at attention either, just a little ways behind Arun recognized the two Grunts the brothers had ambushed earlier that morning. The one Arun had knocked out still had a bruise on his lower cheek, and regarded with a steely look. The…other one that Pranav handled, had his arm in a sling. Arun didn’t need his empathy to tell what the man was thinking about.

“Well,” Saturn said, his face stoic, “I hope you two had decent enough rest.”

“We did, and we’re grateful.” Arun nodded.

“You won’t regret not killing us, boss.” His brother added.

The corners of Saturn’s mouth twitched upwards just a crack, “We’ll see about that, I’m aware you two asked for another alias in response to security issues, correct?”

Arun nodded, “That is correct.”

“Then so long as you two are on the clock you will be referred to by your requested names, Grunt Sirius and Felis, I assume you two don’t have a problem with that?”

“Ah, no, that works fine for us.”

“Good. You've received your trainer cards, you’re clear to carry Pokémon on a battler level, you know what that means, yes?”

The two nodded, they didn’t know specifics, but Aru-no, Sirius did know it allowed them to carry up to 6 Pokémon at a time, considering how deadly Pokémon could be, it made sense that one couldn't exactly carry an entire army of Pokémon with them at all times.

“Good. Now you’ll notice your cards have the Galactic sigils carved into your cards, that means you represent us. Lose a battle, Galactic loses face, and we can't have that, not while the Clans are looking to undermine us, and especially not while the league has its eyes on our members.”

“Wait, why do we care what the league thinks?” Pra-Felis asked.

Saturn’s eyes narrowed, “The league has minimal influence here, but they’re looking for excuses to expand, losing face means perpetuating the idea that we are no longer fit to lead our region. Grunt Felis, the next time you speak up out of turn you’ll be debarred from any future briefings, and receive your information second-hand, is that clear?”

“Oh, uh…yes sir?” His brother said, blinking in surprise.

“Great. Now normally when a grunt loses enough fights, they’re sent to low-hazard areas, away from causing any more issue. For you two though,” Saturn smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes, “I’m certain you know what happens if you suddenly prove to be less than useful.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Sirius’s face remained stoic at the implication, he knew the stakes, but seriously when was the game ever this hardcore? It was unreal, like everything they did was now under the threat of being murdered. It was partially their fault, but damn.

“Permission to speak sir?” Sirius asked.

Saturn nodded so he continued, “We were under the impression we’d have to reveal information we knew regarding…last night. Is that still happening?”

“Correct. Though at the moment the boss is occupied dealing with the press pushing him for answers about the problem you two caused.”

Felis snickered, causing the Admin to slowly turn to his brother, “Anything you would like to add, Grunt?”

“Yea, I mean, don’t you guys have control of the press? At least a couple people under retainer?”

“Those are the people he is speaking with right now, yes.”

“So what’s missing, a story?”

“Among other things.”

Felis crossed his arms, one finger tapping the outside of his arm, “Pokémon rehabilitation project, it was supposed to be a controlled release but something caused them agitation and they scared into a stampede.”

“And what happens if a trainer recognized one of their own?”

“They were abused.” Arun added, “It’s why they were so easy to scare. But the release went smoothly, all things considered, and now they’re happy and free in the wild.”

Saturn stared at the two for a moment, before nodding “Maxie, schedule a call to Cyrus,” He called out to one of the Grunts working the various monitors, “10 minutes, make sure he knows it’s me.”

“Yes sir!” A female voice rang out, before turning into a low muttering as she went about scheduling the call.

“Some details needed, but for a base it’s not bad,” Saturn said approvingly, “since I’m now on a time limit here’s what you need to know.”

The 3d-map switched on again, each city and settlement glowing brightly in 4 different colours. They were spread somewhat evenly, Cyan and Dark Blue taking the largest portion of the map, with a few Pink and Grey areas clustering the outer regions of Sinnoh.

“Cyan, that’s us, Galactic. The deep blue and pink you’re seeing are teams Chronos and Astrai respectively, grey are the territories that are neutral, more useful as meeting grounds than anything else.” Saturn turned to the two of them, his eyes briefly flicking over to something above them, “Do you two know anything about them?”

“No sir.” Sirius replied, concentrating on extending his senses again. They were being fact checked again, but by who? He didn’t feel any signature, perhaps the Pokémon was used to hiding itself? Frustrated, he pulled back into himself, refocusing on Saturn.

A brief pause as the Admin studied them curiously before continuing, “Chronos and Astrai are more cults than anything, they worship the great spirits of Sinnoh, with their leaders claiming to have been blessed by them. With both the Champion and the Professor away for the year, this is the perfect time to finally break our stalemate, and unite Sinnoh under one banner.”

“Question sir.” Felis spoke up, ignoring the admin’s sigh, “Why are we breaking the stalemate?”

“To create a better Sinnoh, we need to have unity.” Saturn began, folding his arms behind him “Galactic began as Sinnoh’s government, when the league forced us underground, we became its Corporate face, and its underground leader instead. Our policy with underground dealings was to manage crime, never let it get out of hand, and affect the lives of the everyday citizen. While Astrai is more than content sitting on past glories and maintaining its hold, Chronos has been steadily amassing their assets, allying themselves with foreigners to boost their ranks.”

The map zoomed in on one of the major cities, the text reading “Jubilife City” in clear display just slightly above the hologram.

“They’ve been seen having dealings with Rocket, Plasma, and Flare among others. And there’s been a recent…decline of valuable Sinnoh specific Pokémon.” Saturn tapped the table, and the map zoomed out once more.

“Ideally,” Saturn said, his index finger absentmindedly tapping the table “We assimilate Astrai, and remove Chronos from the equation. Only while unhindered can we finally move to remake Sinnoh in our image.”

“One year.” The admin said after a brief pause, “We have one year to end this war, otherwise we deal with the more problematic elements of the law. Sirius, you will be assigned under Admin Jupiter, Felis, Admin Mars.”

“Wait, hold on,” Felis interrupted, earning a glare from the Admin, “You’re splitting us up?”

“Yes, at the moment I see no real value in having the two of you together.”

“Oh come on, we work better together, you’ve seen what we can do! We get shit done.”

“I’ve seen what you can do against us, I will not risk my operations with how unpredictable you two currently are.”

“Hey, we told you that we know what happens if we move against you,” His brother said, exasperated, “You guys fact check us and everything!”

“We fact checked you at that time, there’s no telling what opportunities two thieves might encounter along the way.”

“You can’t-”

“I can’t what?” Saturn hissed, causing Felis to freeze “I. Can’t. What? Finish the sentence, Grunt.”

“Nothing, sir.” His brother replied slowly.

“On the contrary, Grunt, I can do anything to you two." He took a step towards them, then another, until he was face to face with the two. "If I wanted you dead I could have both of you killed before you even knew what hit you. I could lock you away for years, and nobody would question me. I can do everything, you can do nothing. You are, at best, mildly curious assets that work for us, and if you knew what was good for you, you would shut up, and follow orders. Is that clear?”

“Watch yourself.” Arun growled, scowling at the Admin, ignoring the sharp look his brother gave him. Who the hell did he think he was? He could barely even remember his fight against Saturn, that's how unimportant he was. And he thought he could talk to Pran like that? Arun could snap the man in half if he wanted to, he'd broken people for less. Yet somehow this man thought he could speal to them like they were lesser than him.

“What did you say, Grunt?” Saturn whispered, his fingers reaching for his belt.

The whole room had fallen to a dead silence, the once bustling Grunts now stopping to stare at the scene unfolding in front of them.

“Do you think You can pull your Pokémon out before I break your face in?” Arun said, his voice deadly quiet.

“It would take three seconds for the whole room to descend on you.” Saturn replied, glaring at him.

“I’d only need two to kill you.”

“Woah there!” Pran suddenly interrupted, a friendly smile plastered on his face, “Look I spoke out of turn right? I’m sorry sir I’m just not used to being away from my brother, you know how it is. It’s just been us for a long time, and I was just a little shocked, couldn’t help myself.”

Arun felt an arm push him back slightly, and he glanced up at Pran, who gave him a look, “I apologise for my brother’s outburst as well, he’s just doing as he always has, defending me when I screw up right?”

Arun gave his brother a searching look, before nodding at Saturn, lowering his head, “Forgive me sir, I spoke out of turn.”

The Admin glared at the two, then scoffed, retreating back a step, “Do it again,” He said, his pose more relaxed, though still keeping one hand on his belt, “And neither of you will see the sun again.”

“Of course sir, you have our word we will not act out again.” Felis replied demurely.

The whole room let out a small sigh of relief, and immediately went back to work as Saturn swivelled his head around the room. Arun took the chance to gauge the reactions of everyone else in the room, noting with some amusement that Winton’s forehead was entirely covered in sweat.

“Your assignments for today before you’re dismissed.” Saturn said, turning back to the table, the map zooming in on Veilstone City. “Sirius, you will go with Agent Quinn to recover Eustice Finchley’s Pokémon. Don’t let them find their way back, these ones are strong, valuable.”

“Grunt Felis, footage shows you have had difficulty with the teleporters.”

“Yes sir,” His brother grinned, “Get motion sick easy.”

“Then after cleaning up your mess in Sector 4, you will continue to use the teleporters under Agent Leland’s watch until you get used to them.”

“Sir…wait a minute.” Felis said, his smile vanishing instantly “You don’t have any uh, shoes I need to shine? Pokémon I need to capture?”

“Perhaps another day, Grunt. At the moment this requires immediate attention, I cannot have a Grunt unable to move about the building.”

“Mhm, right, makes sense. Say uh, did I mention that you look just absolutely dashing today? I mean just wow, I am so impressed, what’s your hair routine?”

“Dismissed.” Saturn replied curtly.

“You sure you don’t need…?”

“Dismissed!”

The last thing the three heard exiting the room, was the barely contained laughter of Grunts as the doors slid shut behind them.