Tri-Kappa Labs

[Noblejanobii]

Tri-Kappa Labs
Chapter 3

"Fusion with Pokemon?" I asked, confusion washing over my features. "You can't be serious right? Pokemon aren't even real. They are a children's card and video game. Plus a TV series. They're not real." Quill smiled at me with a mischievous glint in his eye. He shook his finger at me and said,

"I thought you might say that. But trust me, they're every bit as real as us."

"Quill!"

"In fact, you're about to meet one right now." Quill looked to his right. I followed his gaze and couldn't believe my eyes. A little orange lizard with a flame on his tail and a collar around his neck ran up on all fours to Quill. He sat back on his haunches and wagged his tail furiously.

"Quill! You're back!" He said happily. My jaw dropped in shock.

"Is he-?" I started.

"A Charmander? Yes, yes he is." Quill finished for me. "His name is Trebble. Trebble, this is Shayla. Say hello." Trebble crawled over to me and wagged his tail.

"Hi Miss Shayla! I'm Trebble! I like pets, snacks, belly rubs, and naps." Trebble paused when he suddenly saw his tail. He growled. "So we meet again!" Trebble began to chase his tail. "I will catch you! You can't run forever!"

"He's just like a talking orange flaming lizard dog." I commented.

"Yeah. That's just him. Most of them don't act like dogs. That's just Trebble's personality. He's very loyal and works as the messenger for my team."

"Team?" Quill nodded.

"Yeah see, as I was explaining earlier, we fuse with Pokemon. Scientists here have created a way to infuse the DNA of Pokemon into us. With that, we have the capability to become a Pokemon ourselves. Depending on certain qualities of the DNA and of the Pokemon, the transformations vary. Certain agents, like myself, can only do full transformations. Meaning I can only be fully Pokemon or fully human. There is no in between. Some, like Sloane, can do gradual transformations. They can change certain parts of their body or do a full transformation. The only con with that is that they have to have at least one part of them changed at all times."

"Sloane didn't seem to be transformed at all."

"Oh she was and you saw her transformation too. But what was changed looked so natural that unless you knew what her Pokemon DNA base was you would think she was a regular human."

"What is she?"

"Ah ah ah. Let me finish explaining everything first before I get to that." Quill chastised. "Anyway, the members here at Roman Charioteers form teams, usually of about 8-10 members to balance out the team. Everyone has a role to play. Leader, messenger, scientist, pokedex, chef, etc. We all have to work together or else we won't function well as a team and die whenever we face the Greek Riders. As you'll recall I mentioned that the Greek Riders had made an advance in science that surpassed anything out scientists had done earlier. Well, while we can fuse with Pokemon and the lucky few of us can do partial transformations, the Greek Riders have something better."

"What?"

"Gijinkas."

"Gijinkas?"

"Half Human and half Pokemon. Most of them are pretty easily disguisable as humans but they have all the powers of a Pokemon. They're power houses already but unlike us their bases are active all the time so while we have to take time to activate our bases, they're already using theirs and can easily attack us. Ever since that advancement they've began to win and they're now attacking governments. Our scientists are trying to find something to counter it with but I doubt that they will find anything soon." Quill sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "So many have died and it won't be over until we're all dead." Quill looked at me with sad eyes. "Shayla, we need all the help we can get. You were targeted by the Greek Riders as a tribute for a reason and I think it means you're unique in some way. Please help us out."

I looked at him silently, hoping the shock registered on my face as much as it resonated within my head. Quill's face fell a little bit when he saw my look. His eyes voiced my own thoughts. I didn't believe any of this. Even with Trebble in front of me, this couldn't be real. It had to all be a dream. Unless, it wasn't a dream. I looked around at all the people at the tables around us. Some of them looked like normal humans, others had wings or tails, and then there were pokemon running all over the place playing with one another. How could this be real? But how could it not be? I swallowed hard and looked back at Quill. Immediately I felt my heart crack a little. He looked crestfallen. His emerald eyes swam with sorrow as he watched my disbelief. He wanted me here, there was no way to fake that kind of emotion. I bit my lip and thought it over hard. I couldn't go home. I had nowhere else to go that I was aware of. I didn't even know where this compound was. We could be on the moon for all I knew. But this guy... he wanted me here. He had stayed with me for who knows how long last night and today waiting for me to wake up. After all his kindness, could I really just leave him?

"Ok." I whispered. Quill perked up a little bit and looked at me as surprise flickered across his face. "I'll help you out. But only if you tell me who everyone's bases are and let me get a base." Quill's lips split into a large smile and he laughed.

"Yes and yes." He replied, "But getting you your own base won't be immediate. There's a procedure we have to go through first. But telling you everyone else's bases on our team will be easy." Quill pulled a walkie talkie from his belt and spoke into it. "Hey Mew and Dew, when can you guys take a break? The new girl says she's on board but only if we tell her our bases." There was static for a minute before Dew's deep voice rattled over the stream.

"The breakfast rush should be finished in about fifteen minutes. Give us until then. Where should we meet?"

"The usual." Quill responded, "Everyone got that right? Meet at the usual spot in fifteen minutes."

"Roger!" Joey and Oliver said over the frequency.

"I hear you." Being added.

"Fifteen minutes tops." Mew said, "But we'll be there."

Everyone waited in silence but Sloane's voice never came over the line. Quill frowned a little and sighed,

"Sloane? You there?" Static covered the line again. Sloane didn't answer.

"I bet she's on the roof again." Being's voice crackled.

"The roof?" I said, giving Quill a confused look.

"It's where she goes when she wants to be alone." He explained, "She goes there to think or when she needs inspiration for one of her stories. None of us understand what's so appealing about it but something up there keeps her going up there." Quill put the walkie talkie to his mouth again. "I'll go get her. I'll meet you guys in fifteen." Quill stood up from the table. Trebble jumped to Quill's shoulder and I stood up in response. Pushing in our chairs, Quill lead me to a side corridor that was very dark and very small. At the end of the corridor was a set of stairs. We began to climb up the stairs, the stairs spiraling like spider stairs. It was hard to see and I tripped a few times but finally we reached a door. Quill pushed it open, but the door obviously resisted his efforts. As I stepped outside after him, I understood why. The wind howled as it raced at a high speed around us. No wonder Sloane came up here to be alone. No one else was probably crazy enough to come up here. I scanned the roof and saw Sloane at the far edge.

She was smiling a little, her headphones over her ears. She was holding her right one closer with her hand and I saw her lips moving, like she was talking to someone. Sloane stopped for a little bit then giggled in response to something. Was she actually talking to someone? Quill took a step forward and Sloane stiffened. That was the only sign she gave of knowing we were here. Her lips moved quickly again before she messed with her phone. When Quill and I reached her, "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" by Fall out boy (the lyrics of this song were on her shirt if you'll recall my mentioning earlier) was playing through her headphones. Quill hadn't seemed to have noticed her talking, either that or he didn't care. Quill just reached down and tapped her shoulder. Sloane lowered her headphones and looked at him.

"Did I miss a meeting call?" She asked. Quill nodded. Sloane sighed and shook her head. "Sorry. I was stuck on one of my stories and I was trying to think of something for it. No luck so far though." Sloane stood up from the edge of the roof, her headphones hanging around her neck, phone in her pocket, and her tablet clutched closely in her arms. "I'll come back up later and see if I can get some inspiration then." With that, the three of us left the roof.

Sloane and Quill lead me back downstairs to the main hallway area. We walked back in the direction of the relaxation room I had met Sloane in, but we passed it and kept going. Soon we passed under an arch with a sign on it. The sign said, "Guild Rooms." I frowned a little in confusion but just kept following Quill and Sloane. As I looked around, I noticed this whole place was sectioned off into meeting rooms. On each door there was a team name. Elevators, escalators, and stairs allowed easy access to rooms on all the different floors. Quill lead Sloane and I into an elevator. He pulled out a key card from his pocket and tapped it against the registration pad. He then hit the number twenty-three, the top floor I presumed since there were no other numbers above it. Without further delay, the elevator shot up at an unusual speed. I grabbed onto Quill in surprise and he smiled as I clung to him for dear life while he just relaxed against the railing. I shot him a hateful look then slid my gaze to Sloane. She looked extremely uncomfortable, holding the railing with white knuckles, her teeth were clenched and her eyes were misty. I then realized why. The entire elevator was glass and Sloane was looking down. She was terrified of heights.

The elevator finally slid to a stop and shuttered as the door opened. Quill held me as Sloane was the first one off, literally jumping out of the elevator and collapsing on the ground. Quill lead me out and I released him from my clutches. Sloane stayed on the ground for a minute or two more before shakily standing up. Quill resumed the lead and we followed him down the small hallway. He stopped at a room with the number twenty-three above the number 310 on it and the name "Tri-Kappa" on the door. Quill tapped his card against a scanner by the door. It glowed green and the door slid open. The three of us stepped inside where Oliver, Joey, and Being all awaited us.

"Mew and Dew have not arrived yet?" Quill asked, checking his watch.

"No sir." Being replied, "But they still have about ten more minutes before the rush is over." Quill nodded his head in thought before sitting down. I took the seat to his right and Sloane sat across the table from us.

"I would like to begin if that is alright with all of you. Hopefully Mew and Dew will be here soon so they can catch up. Anyway, this is Shayla, as you all know. She has decided to join our team but on the conditions that we tell her what our bases our and get her a base as well. I informed her that getting her a base might take a little while but showing her ours wouldn't be that much of a problem. So, without further ado, would anyone like to go first?" The conference room remained silent for a minute before Sloane raised her hand.

"I'll go first." She said. Sloane pursed her lips then said, "I am Pokemon #715, Noivern the Sound Wave Pokemon. I have the ability infiltrator which allows me to get up close with my opponents and pass through any barriers such as light screen and be able to attack them. I have the naive nature, increasing my speed but lowering my special defense. I also have the characteristic "likes to fight" which increases my attack power. I have the moves dragon pulse, boom burst, steel wing, and flamethrower. I also carry the item metronome because I tend to use the same moves repeatedly. I am what's called a first generation purebred fusion meaning my DNA has only one base, which is noivern. This allows me to do partial transformations but at the cost that I have to have a partial transformation going at all times. My headphones," Sloane lifted them a little, "are my transformation. They become my ears when i become a noivern." Sloane took a deep breath and seemed to be thinking. "I think that's about it."

"I'll go next." Being said. He smiled at me then continued, "I am Pokemon #156, Quilava the Volcano Pokemon. I have the ability Blaze which increases the power of my fire type moves when I'm close to unconsciousness or death. I have a lonely nature which increases my attack but lowers my defense. I have the characteristic "mischievous" which increases my special attack. I know the moves Eruption, flame wheel, brick break, and aerial ace. I also carry the item charcoal to further increase my fire power. I am also a purebred fusion, but I am from the second generation while Sloane is from the first. This truly has no meaning except that I have less detectable transformations." Being rolled up his sleeves to show red stripes covering his arms. "I have these all over my body, starting at my torso. I also have these in my pokemon form but they cover my entire body then." Being surveyed the room to see who would go next. It was Oliver who spoke up.

"Well I'm Oliver, in case you don't remember seeing me. I have two bases, Pokemon #152 Chikorita, the leaf pokemon, and Pokemon #175 Togepi, the spike ball Pokemon. I have the ability Super Luck which makes it easier for me to land critical hits. I have the quiet nature which increases my special attack but lowers my speed. I have the characteristic "good endurance" which increases my defense. I know the moves metronome, ancient power, vine whip, and solar beam. I hold the item Power Herb so I have one charge-free solar beam attack. I am a first generation dual-breed fusion meaning I have more than one base in my DNA, chikorita and togepi. This results in me only being able to change to either fully human or fully pokemon. It also means that since I'm a first generation, I will never be able to evolve my bases and that they had to be first stages when they implanted them into me."

"I guess that's where I come in." Joey said. "I'm Joey and I also have two bases, Pokemon #197, Umbreon the Moonlight Pokemon, and Pokemon #006, Charizard, the flame pokemon. I have the ability Drought which creates intense sunlight upon my transformation. I have the naughty nature which increases my attack but lowers my special defense. I have the characteristic "likes to fight" as well so my attack is increased further. I know the moves Blast Burn, Dark Pulse, Dragon Claw, and Air Slash. I carry the Expert Belt item to increase the power of my moves that have type advantages against my opponents. I am a second generation dual-breed fusion which means I also have two bases in my DNA. Just like the others, I can only be fully human or fully pokemon. However, since I'm second generation, I was able to evolve my bases, as they started as a charmander and an eevee. However, second generations had to have the first stages implanted into them. Anything higher than that and our DNA would break down." There was a knock at the door and then it opened revealing Dew and Mew. Quill smiled and gestured to their seats.

"You guys are just in time. We were just telling Shayla about our bases. Dew, why don't you go next since we're going in order of breed and generation." Dew nodded and looked at me.

"Well Shayla, I have two bases just like the others. I am have the bases of Pokemon #502, Dewott the Discipline Pokemon, and Pokemon #521, Unfezant the Proud Pokemon. I have the ability Shell Armor which prevents me from receiving critical hits. I have the gentle nature which increases my special defense but lowers my defense. I also have the characteristic "quick to flee" which increases my speed. I have the moves Shell Blade, Sky Attack, Hydro Pump, and Heat Wave. I carry the item mystic water to power up my water moves even when in sunlight. I am a third generation dual-breed fusion. In my case, they were able to put evolved pokemon bases into my DNA but I cannot evolve them."

"Now it's my turn." Quill said, "I have two bases as well. I have the bases of Pokemon #156 Quilava the Volcano Pokemon and Pokemon #492, Shaymin the Gratitude Pokemon, Sky forme. I have the ability Flash Fire meaning fire type moves only increase my fire power. I have the characteristic "Likes to thrash about" which increases my attack. I also have the Mild nature which increases my special attack by lowers my defense. I have the moves Air Slash, Flamethrower, Seed Flare, and Rollout. I carry a miracle seed to increase my seed flare's power. I am a first generation legend-breed fusion. This means that I have two bases, one of which is a legendary and one of which is a regular pokemon. The regular pokemon base must be implanted as a first stage, in my case cyndaquil, but can evolve."

"And that leaves me." Mew finished off. "I have three bases. I have the bases of Pokemon #156, Quilava the volcano Pokemon, #151, Mew the New Species Pokemon, and #251, Celebi the Time travel Pokemon. I have the modest nature and have the characteristic "loves to eat" which increases my HP. I know the moves Leaf storm, Eruption, Aura Sphere, and Psychic. I have the item black belt to increase the power of my fighting type move. I am a fourth generation legend-breed fusion. This means I have three bases, two of which are legendaries, and one of which is a regular pokemon. We can implant evolved pokemon bases but they cannot evolve."

"Then there's little old me!" Trebble added, waving his paw. "I have the base of Pokemon #004, Charmander the lizard pokemon. I have the bashful nature which means no stat gains or loses for me but I have the characteristic of "likes to run" so my speed goes up anyway. I know the moves dragon pulse, inferno, iron claw, and focus blast. I carry the item called the "Masa Crest." It was designed specifically for me. It maximizes my speed stat as well as allows me to use the move focus blast, which normal charmanders cannot learn. I am a first generation, purebred."

"So how do you determine what generation, breed, and base you are? Is it all part of the same test?" I asked, looking at Quill.

"I was waiting for you to ask that." Quill replied, "See, remember when I said we couldn't give you a base right away? Well, that's why. Our scientists have to test your DNA to determine the bases, generation, and breed best fit for you. If they don't give you the right one your DNA could break down and cause you to die."

"I figured you had a legit reason but that's not what I expected." I said honestly. Quill chuckled and looked at the others.

"So, I was thinking Shayla could join our team. We could definitely use another member and she has nowhere else to go now that she knows everything she does. I feel like it would be best if she joined us. Sound good?" Everyone voiced their agreements and I smiled a little.

"Thank you all for welcoming me." I said.

"Well on that note, I'll go get Shayla her base and get her registered into the system." Everyone stood up. Trebble jumped on Quill's shoulder as everyone else filed out the door to their respective places. Quill lead me back to the elevator. The ride down was just as bad as the first, except this time it wasn't just Quill, myself, and Sloane. As the elevator began its rapid descent, I grabbed hold of Quill again instinctively. Quill wrapped one of his arms around me for reassurance. I buried my face in his chest and a few minutes later the ride was over. I pulled away from him, suddenly embarrassed at my action, but Quill didn't seem to mind until Being let out a cat call.

"Looks like we know who the next power couple is." Both Quill and I's faces went red. We exited the elevator quickly, the laughter of our teammates following behind us. When we got a decent ways away from the elevators, Quill and I stopped running. We slowed to a walk. My face was still very red, my heart pounding. I couldn't look at Quill. I was too embarrassed to look at him. We walked in silence for a little while before I felt Quill's strong arm wrap around my shoulder. He moved my head to face his.

"Hey, come on. Don't let what Being get to you. He's an idiot despite being a genius." Quill said, a broad smile playing on his lips. "Now come on, let me see a smile." I smiled a little at him and Quill laughed. "There it is! That's what I like to see." Quill lead me down the hallway past where we had eaten earlier to another archway area. This time the sign above read "Bases." I assumed that meant like DNA bases. Unlike the guild area, this place only had one door. Quill opened the door for me and I walked in then waited for him to take the lead again. He lead me down a long hallway to another door, which lead to another hallway and another door, so on and so forth until about seven hallways and doors later. After that final door, Quill and I entered a large room that reminded me of a hospital room.

Everything was white and the place stunk of medicine. There was one of those metal doctor beds to my right, pressed up against the wall with a little white blanket on top of it. Directly ahead of us was another door and beside the door was a table filled with syringes, medicines, and other doctorly tools that sent a shiver down my spine. I hate doctor's offices. Standing beside the table was a man, an old man. He had black hair that was greying and blue eyes that popped from behind his spectacles. He had on a lab coat with khaki pants and a black shirt. The man leaned on his chain as he squinted at me.

"Where'd you find her Quill? I've seen better." He finally said. Quill sighed and replied,

"She's better than she looks." He turned to me, "Shayla this is Dr. Mullins. He's going to get you a base."

"Sit." Dr. Mullins said, pointing to the bed thing. I walked over to it and sat on the blanket. Dr. Mullins slowly made his way over to me and examined me. It was like he was giving me a physical with his eyes. I didn't like the creeping feeling it gave me as he looked me over. He just stared at me unblinking. Gave me the shivers. Finally Dr. Mullins looked back at Quill and said, "You've brought us a strong one. She will be able to take a high level base. I can tell. What though, I am unsure. We will have to test her with the illusions."

"Illusions?" I asked, looking quizzingly at Quill. Quill opened his mouth to explain but Dr. Mullins stopped his with a wave of his hand.

"She will find out soon enough. No need to bother telling her." He walked over to the table by the door and picked up a syringe. Dr. Mullins came back over to me and commanded, "Lay back." His stern tone caused my body to react immediately, doing as it was told. Before I could protest, he jabbed the needle in my arm and my vision began to fray at the edges. I groaned as time seemed to slow and it became harder for me to keep my eyes open. I heard Quill say something just before I descended into darkness,

"Welcome Alice, to the rabbit hole."