Nathan "Neo" Winterfield (As a Ninetales)
Avalon Apostles
Avalon Research Labs, Maris, Aluna
ARPers: N/A

I woke up with a jolt, suddenly thinking everything I had just gone through was a really terrible dream, but now it was time to get out of bed and begin the day with that morning cup of coffee I always look forward to. Shame that's not exactly how the reality of the situation was working.

"WATCH IT, HE'S AWAKE!" I heard someone shout.

I opened my eyes and I saw metal bars. An obvious cage. A shock at first and then a "oh yeah, it makes sense now." Beyond that, a white tiled room and lots of funky research equipment I had never seen before. Oh great, I could bet this was where all the fun and games would begin.

I saw a few of the researchers in white lab coats. Older men, young ladies, one middle-aged guy who looked like this was his first time seeing a Pokémon.

"Relax, we've got him under control."

I could tell they didn't take any chances. There was a muzzle on my snout, obviously to stop me from setting a whole bunch of things on fire, which I didn't even know how to really do yet. I hadn't even tried using a Ninetales's powers and capabilities. Heck, I wasn't even used to having nine tails coming out of my rear yet, so this was definitely going to be a tricky process. Of course in a cramped cage, it wasn't the ideal situation to get all caught up in Ninetales 101.

"This is the thing that killed Winterfield?" I heard one of them ask.

"Yes, he completely incinerated him," one of the others confirmed. "Flames hot enough to even destroy his bones. We barely found anything to identify the body with."

That's because there were no bones, you goofballs!

I couldn't even get my mouth open just to make Ninetales foxy noises, though I highly doubted that would ultimately do anything to get me out of this cage. How the blazes was I supposed to tell them this was totally not what they thought it was when I couldn't speak to any of them? Oh forget it, it was going to be just like that Ninetales said. I was going to end up with rectal thermometers up my rear, getting blood tests five times a day, and getting more wires around me than a mainframe computer.

I needed a way to communicate with them. Talking was out. They couldn't understand a thing I'd say.

"David Lee's report confirmed this Ninetales had attacked the team aggressively," one of the older researchers told the others. "Nearly killed Lee in the encounter and he bit Winterfield in the arm. After Winterfield headed back to the helicopter for treatment, the report states they tried to recover the equipment, but Lee and Chambers were forced to evacuate the area after encountering a Gardevoir. Winterfield insisted on staying. A search party was sent out later to recover the Grotle, but all we found of Winterfield were his ashes and this Ninetales that had almost escaped."

This was really going from bad to worse. Okay, first, I needed to get out of this mess and this cage. Then I needed to make these lab rats realize who I really was. Then, I had to track down that Ninetales, although holy crap, she could be anywhere by now. Well, assuming I get lucky and I find her, I had to reason with her and get the curse undone. Because... oh yeah, who am I kidding, that worked so great the last time I tried talking to her!

I needed... a bargaining chip, too. Something the Ninetales desperately needed. Like some kind of big life-saving thing that would make her consider undoing this 1,000 year curse. What could that possibly be!? Yeah, she really seemed adamant about this curse thing. And she seemed like she had all the things she wanted in life. Cookies and Valentine's Day chocolates weren't going to cut it with her. She couldn't even do anything with a winning lottery ticket! Oh, and this was only if the curse could actually be undone. Right, well a 1,000 year curse wouldn't be a 1,000 year curse if it could be easily canceled like a spammy email subscription now, would it?

Well, I guess this is my life now. Yippee ki yay.

Oh, and then it hit me! I needed a pen. Or a pencil. Marker, chalk, crayon, I didn't care! Just something to write with. I mean, it was going to be tricky to write with paws lacking opposable thumbs now, but well, if I could at least hold it with my two front paws and write somewhat legible letters, I could write a message for these white-coated crazies! "Stop don't probe me" seemed like a great start. I had my priorities.

I looked around and there were plenty of writing implements! Plenty of paper too! Of course, these guys had to track results and take notes all the time. Now I just needed to somehow get a hold of some and try doing that. But there was the slight matter of the cage. And obviously these white coats weren't going to expect a Ninetales to fill out forms and consensual agreements. Great. The one time I could have really used one of those, I wasn't going to get one just because they believed Pokémon were illiterate.

Well, one thing at a time. I decided to be... odd. Yes, oddly cooperative. Right now, they were all thinking I was some savage, murderous nine-tailed fox that nearly killed Dave, took a tasty bite out of poor, poor Nathan Winterfield, and then cremated him free of charge just for fun! If I acted in absolute stark contrast to that, it might get them wondering something weird was going on. YES, something weird was going on, people!

"We need to take him out for transfer to the containment chamber, but I need two of you to be ready to use belt restraints," the head scientist declared. "He may attempt an escape. Remember, these are untamed, wild, and very aggressive creatures we're dealing with here."

"Understood."

Oh boy, were they in for a treat.

They popped the lever on the cage which allowed the roof to be swung open. I decided to be very chill, very relaxed, and oddly casual. The more I weirded them out, the better. I simply stood up, still feeling a bit odd to be standing on all fours, but yeah, I might need to get used to this for a while. Possibly a long while. A possible VERY long while.

The two assistants, who were ready to strap me up like a death row felon, had their restraints ready to go, but I simply proved that wasn't necessary. I just stepped over the cage wall gently, relaxed, and then made my way onto the metallic lab table. Easy peesy.

Wasn't at all what they were expecting. I acted as tame as a friendly, loyal hound. I could even try cute! Hey, who wouldn't love a nice, cuddly furry fox as a friend? Just watch the tails. I mean really, sure, go ahead and tug a tail. Make my day. If I could do curse things now, too, would I really need to go that deep into nasty territory? Really, my worst 1,000 year curses would be like your ice cream will always be one degree warmer or your pens will run out of ink just a second earlier. You wouldn't even notice them if I never told you what they were!

The head researcher was a little baffled, but he decided to try something.

"Come," he spoke.

Ooh, I obeyed! I softly and gently approached him and even bowed when I got to him waiting at the other end of the table. Now they were suspecting something really strange was going on. Surely this couldn't be the murderous Ninetales that killed Winterfield, could it?

"...Sit," he commanded.

Sure! I sat down on my rear and relaxed, waiting patiently for his next command. Ha ha, oh, you're not winning this one, Mrs. Ninetales! I'm going probe-free tonight!

"The specimen seems oddly compliant considering we recovered it from the wild," the female researcher said.

"There's no way this is the creature that killed Winterfield," one of the others said. "He even understands and follows commands. This has to be someone else's trained Pokémon."

"Don't be too quick to jump to conclusions," the head researcher told them. "These creatures are very intelligent and crafty. Some of them even moreso than humans. Don't get your guard down with them."

Oh for Pete's sake, let's just get this over with.

I used one paw to snag and slide over a nearby notebook. Then, I used the same paw to slide over one of their ballpoint pens. Perfect. Let's get the party started.

They just watched, totally baffled, as I tried to write, bracing the pen between both paws as I slowly wrote the letters slowly, but legibly. They were a little messy and looked like a first-grader trying penmanship, but they were legible letters. I needed it to be short and sweet because this wasn't exactly easy to do with Ninetales paws. Just three simple words for now.

I AM NATHAN

Eyes went wide, the female researcher gasped, the restraints were dropped, and everyone had a good time.

"That... the head researcher stated in a cold voice. "N-Nathan Winterfield, you're in the body of that Ninetales?"

Boy did I nod to that one. Well, that was one thing out of the way. Thousands of steps more to go, but I was making great progress!