Welcome to the Future Bloodline (Part 1)

It’s been smooth sailing for the past few hours. Well, he assumes it’s been hours. Time isn’t exactly the most easy to tell when you’re drifting across the ocean on a pile of logs held together by the vines of a Shaymin. The sun is starting to set, the colors of the sky are slowly growing darker as the stars begin to shine brighter in the sky.

It’s been a silent trip. Quite relaxing, very necessary after all the work they’ve done today. Not often you climb an entire mountain and take down a withering snail and a whole pirate crew all in the same day. For Ralph to say everyone is exhausted would be the understatement of the century.

The blue, orange and green all begin to reflect off the water’s surface, creating a literal sea of colors that spread out as far as the eye can see, the crashing of the waves all creating a mesmerizing ripple effect as their raft is rocked around gently.

He hears Mick beginning to speak up, glancing slightly in his direction. “…Aww, damnit, I didn’t activate my tattoos during the fight. No wonder I got my ass kicked more than usual.” Oh, shut up. Ralph leans over, giving a light smack to the back of Mick’s head with his feathers, to which he lets out a quiet yelp, muzzle scrunching up as he grabs at the back of his head. “Agh-! What was that for?!”

“For making the dumbest connection ever.” Ralph response flatly, scoffing as he rolls his eyes, sitting himself back down on the raft. “And for making me worry when you didn’t come back up after we abandoned ship.”

Mick just furrows his eyebrows as he rubs at the back of his head for a few moments more, the Shinx letting out a huff as he crosses his arms over his chest, staring questioningly at Ralph. “A couple hours late for that, don’t you think? I didn’t exactly see you scrambling for me when I was under.”

“I knew you’d be fine, you’re too stubborn to die. Doesn’t make me any less afraid of the offchance where you bite the dust, though.” He glances over at Mick again briefly before gazing back out at the sea. “Pffeh, maybe if you did remember to turn your tattoos on, you would’ve tried to use ’em as a light source to find you, make a big show, tell me like ‘seeeee, Ralph? Getting these tattoos wasn’t a dumb decision, it actually totally helped us.'”

He can hear Mick quietly laugh beside him. “Sheesh, you don’t gotta go readin’ me like a damn book.”

“You’re a predictable book, why do you think you’re so easy to read in the first place?”

He can hear Lavender giggling softly behind him, briefly turning to glance at her, seeing Sahara sitting at the edge of the raft on the sidelines, gazing out at his side of the sea. “Why don’t you two just kiss and make up already?” She asks jokingly. Ralph can already hear Mick stammering as he tries to come up with a response, Lavender just flashing a cheeky little grin at the Shinx. “What? That’s just the kinda vibe you two give me!”

Mick’s voice is a mess of stammering and disjointed words. Hah, his cheeks are even blushing. Does he have to get so worked up about this? As if that’ll help his case. “D’uh- I- Okay look, Ralph and I have been bros for life, but we ain’t that kind of close.”

“Yeah, my beak’s too long for us to close the distance between each other.” Ralph says with a smirk, turning towards Mick to see his reaction. Eyes going wide, mouth agape, very visibly confused, and most of all, extremely flustered. So flustered he’s left speechless. Ralph’s smirk only grows. “Was worth it just for that alone. Feel like I’d be more of a watchdog than a boyfriend anyway with how reckless you are, pffeh.”

Mick grumbles as he quickly turns his head away, arms crossed tightly over his chest, not making eye contact with anyone else on the ship. _{“Jerkoff.”}

“The feeling’s mutual.” He says with a hint of teasing in his voice, daintily patting the top of Mick’s head with a wing.

For the first time in a while, Sahara speaks up, the Audino facing away from the sea to look back at the group. “You all seem very tight knit. Have you been traveling together long?”

While Mick is still poutily keeping his gaze away from the group, Ralph goes ahead and answers for him. “Mick and I have been together for a good long while, but we’ve only been at this whole team gig for a couple of years. Lavender’s only been a part of our team for a day.”

“Yup!” The Shaymin happily nods her head. “I’m the newbie! Felt like it was time to finally leave the nest, if you know what I mean. I liked the energy these two had and I wanted to stick around and travel with them!”

The Audino’s eyes widen in surprise, glancing at each of the three members. “You’ve only known them for a day and the three of you are already that coordinated with each other? That’s extremely impressive. It’d take weeks, if not months for a team to measure up to the synergy you all seem to have. Could’ve fooled me, what with how well you handled Shanti and her crew.”

“What’s it matter to you?” Mick finally seems to speak up, meekly glancing back at Sahara. His cheeks are still red and he’s trying to hide them, but he’s not doing that good a job at it. What a dweeb. “Aren’t you just an archivist?”

“Well… That’s only half the truth.” Sahara chuckles softly as a smile curls up on his lips. “I’m an archivist, yes, but not just any that you’d find out in the field. I’m a member of a group called the Future Bloodline, an organization of Pokemon banding together with the goal to preserve sustainability for everyone’s future, hence our namesake. I kept it a secret because I wanted to make sure I could trust you.”

An organization that none of them have heard about before? How curious. Ralph catches a glimpse of Mick fully turning around in the corner of his vision. Why is he not surprised that this is what captures Mick’s attention of all things? “Okay but- Why are you telling us this now?”

Sahara chuckles softly. “Because your performance on the ship convinced me that you three would be a perfect addition to our cause. We don’t just let anyone aboard, we’re very strict with our selection process. Make sure we’ve got the best of the best on our side.”

“And you see potential in us?” Lavender asks, eyes wide with wonder. “Is that what you’re trying to say?”

“Pretty much, yeah!” Sahara nods in response. “It’s not every day a group of three can take down an entire crew of pirates, let alone one of the most dangerous pirates in recent years. Not only did you take out the crew, but you wrecked her entire ship, too. If it were up to me, I’d say you’ve more than proven yourselves already, but you’ll have to take a test if you want to join, as is our standard protocol.”

Ooooooohh boy. Ralph turns to face Mick, and sure enough, all that poutyness has melted away in favor of wide-eyed excitement. He can practically see him trembling as the Shinx turns to face him. “Ralph, you know what this means?! We fucking did it! We finally managed to prove ourselves! I-It’d be insane to not join! You know we gotta join, right?! We have to!”

A step forward in their lives, being part of some sort of special group, acting as the world’s guardians. That does sound enticing. When else are they gonna get an opportunity such as this? “Yeah, it’d be dumb to turn this down.” Ralph chuckles softly at Mick, his gaze glancing to Lavender. “What about you? You up for this?”

“Do you even need to ask? Of course I am!” She exclaims excitedly with an eager nod of her head.

Sahara chuckles quietly to himself. “It makes me happy to see you all so willing to join. We’re stationed in The Veil, we’ll start making our way over once we make it to land.”

Aaaaaaand as if Mick couldn’t get any more excited. “You hear that, Ralph?” He asks, eyes wide with excitement, genuine happiness. “We’re going home!”

---

Home sweet home.

Gosh, it feels like so much has changed since they’d left, yet at the same time, it feels like it hasn’t changed a bit. So many more Pokemon roaming the streets now from all time periods, especially the ancient past. Quite a number of Flutter Manes and Sandy Shocks walking the neon-lit streets. As always, music is playing all throughout the city, the multi-colored luminescence of the sky beaming down on the freshly rained streets and sidewalks. Neither Ralph nor Mick recognize the song being played, but it sounds like electroswing. A certified Veil moment.

When a bad boy tramp sounds, its’ freaky
Cause you’re afraid, remember he’s lanky
Don’t rate him even he gets sore
Cross the river and roam the shore

Commotion, commotion, commotion. Always someone talking, always a conversation to be had, The Veil is livelier than it’s ever been. A Neo-Swords unit can be seen monitoring the area, an Iron Leaves, Iron Crown and Iron Boulder all patrolling the streets separately on different corners, the glowing fluid, nuerachem, lighting up the translucent parts of their bodies.

Ralph can hear Mick sighing happily beside him as the group all follow behind Sahara. Of course, he has his light tattoos turned on. “Fuck, man. We’ve only been away for a few years, but it feels like it’s been forever.” His eyes wander over the streets and the towering buildings above, the familiar sight of the looming Iron Moths droning over the city. Not as many as there once were before The Singularity, but still a considerable amount of them.

Lavender, meanwhile, is staring in wide-eyed wonder and amazement. Ralph couldn’t help but muffle a laugh to himself as the Shaymin just keeps gawking at everything she sees, her eyes seeming to linger on the robot Pokemon that pass them by. Honestly, it’s a wonder she hasn’t been called out for staring.

A Miraidon drives by, its wheels splashing the water up into the air a little, making the water on the ground ripple in waves, creating a small, intricate little light show right there on the ground that Lavender couldn’t help but stare into as she takes a moment to just stop and appreciate, her eyes glancing back up at the multitude of buildings laying before her and the rest of the group. “_{Oh my gosh, oh my gosh oh my gooooooooosshhhhhhh!} This place is amazing!” She turns back to face Mick, Ralph and Sahara, the neon lights reflecting in her eyes. “And you all live here?!”

Ralph chuckles softly, placing a wing against his hip. “First time ever being in a place like this, Lavender?”

“Okay look, LOOK.” Lavender stares Ralph dead in the eyes, green eyes staring fiercely, with some kind of intent. What kind of intent? Very geeky intent from the looks of things. “Going from Shaymin Village, a very, veeeeeerryy traditional place with little to no technology, to this? You have no idea how hard it is for me to not just fly away and go exploring on my own! I feel like I could explore this city for weeks and still not see everything!”

Mick chuckles happily, Ralph catching a glimpse of his tail swishing back and forth behind him. “Remind me to give ya the grand tour after we’re all registered! I’d love to show you around. The Veil’s got so, SO many places you won’t see anywhere else. Hell, even I’m having a hard time thinking of where to bring you first.”

“Dragging her to all the back alley arenas and Braindance Cafes doesn’t count as giving her the grand tour, Mick.” Ralph playfully teases with a smirk on his beak, readjusting his tie a little bit. It’s worth it for the sheer look of offense that casts itself across Mick’s face.

“Oh come on, man!” He hisses back, his muzzle scrunching up poutily. “You think I’d bring her to a Braindance Cafe before I bring her to the park or one of the nightclubs?! _{I mean, I’d be kiiiiiiiinda tempted to} but that’s besides the point! I’ve got plenty of other places to bring her to before I’d-“

“What’s a Braindance Cafe?” Lavender interrupts curiously, scooting over a bit closer to Mick.

Aaaaaannnddd just like that, it’s like a switch flips in Mick’s head. “Okay, so, it ain’t like a typical cafe, they’ve got a lot of booths with these reeeaallly highly advanced chairs that they hook you up to, and they put these helmets on you that scan your brainwaves, put you into a simulation matched to your skill level. You can pick certain scenarios, just have all out brawls, or you can have your own combat patterns scanned and face off against yourself! And you can even face off against other people’s data that they’ve uploaded and-“

“There he goes.” Ralph scoffs, rolling his eyes.

Mick pouts his lip out and leans closer to Ralph, giving him a gentle shove, the duck stumbling a bit. “Oh shut up.” Worth it. Mick leans back over to Lavender a moment after, whispering to her. _{“Oh, and by the way, IF7 is the best Braindance Cafe in The Veil. Just for future reference, mmkay?”} Lavender gives a simple, silent nod.

“We’ve got similar setups in the Future Bloodline.” Sahara speaks up, smiling as he glances back at the group. “While those cafes are primarily one-user experience, all of our units are connected to each other through a very complex network. We often have training drills were everyone is required to participate in a session. I can’t quite go too in depth because it’s beyond my scope of understanding. Our technician, Helio, can probably explain it far better than I can.”

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiittt…” Oh boy, the gears in Mick’s brain are turning again. “You mean we all link up and battle with each other, all at the same time in the same session?” And there’s that smile. He’s practically shaking in place with excitement. “Oh hell yeah! That sounds so fucking cool! How much further? We NEED to get there now!”

Sahara chuckles softly, rolling his eyes. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone this excited to join. But take it easy, bud. We’re nearly there.”

Argyle Park. One of the many highlights of The Veil’s Central District. Large and lustrous, many a pond and rivers that traveled out into The Veil’s red-light district further away from here. Truthfully, the park is so large and expansive it could almost be considered a district all on its own, a massive lake within the center with plenty of pretty scenery surrounding it. Trees, benches, jogging paths, a few small shops scattered around, all Pokemon running their own local businesses.

There’s a small outdoor toilet nestled beside a tree in one of the lesser-walked areas of the park, the grass damp from the earlier rain, the toilet itself was tucked away, almost as if it were being hidden, the little indicator at the bottom of the handle reading “OCCUPIED” in red.

Sahara gestures an arm out at the port-o-potty as he glances back at the group, smiling. “Well, this is the place!”

The three all stare blankly, all glancing at each other with equal amounts of confusion and perplexity before turning back to Sahara, all staying silent. Well, besides Mick, anyway. “You’re joking, right?”

“I may be joking.” The Audino reaches into his interior vest pocket, pulling out a small card. “But I may not be.” He winks at them before turning back to the toilet, placing his card just underneath the door.

Beep-beep! Click!

The “OCCUPIED” handle switches to a warm green that says “VACANT,” Sahara pulling the door open, gesturing for them to go inside. “Well, come along! Might be a bit of a tight fit but I think it can hold all four of us.”

The three all look at each other and shrug, Ralph being the least enthused about having to step inside one of those things. Well… At least it doesn’t seem to smell that bad. Smells surprisingly nice in there. Hasn’t been in a lot of portable toilets in his life, but this is certainly the cleanest one he’s ever gone in.

Though something is noticeably different. The toilet itself, there’s no water in it. It’s totally empty and dry. That might explain why it doesn’t smell like a dumpster in here.

The three all stand back against the walls, Lavender having to stand above the toilet as Sahara walks inside, discreetly shutting the door behind him and locking it right back up. His attention is directed to the roll of toilet paper, still full, never used. He turns it to the side and lets it go, it quickly spinning around as a little panel above it opens up. It’s a small communications panel, a smooth, suave voice coming from the other end. “‘Ello?”

“Hey, Quincy, guess who’s back!” The Audino perks up, chuckling softly.

The voice on the other end takes a moment to respond. “Sahara? Where the bloody hell have you been, lad?! We’ve been tryin’ to contact ya for the last three days! Wait, now that I’m lookin’ at ya… Where’s your equipment? Where’s your badge? Who’re those strays you’ve brought along with ya?”

“Equipment’s been plundered, probably lost and stuck at the bottom of the sea by now. It’s a long story.” He awkwardly rubs at the back of his head, the group awkwardly staring at him. “These three beside me, though? They wanna be recruited! They’re the reason why I even managed to come back in the first place. They’ve got plenty of experience and have plenty to bring to the table. Trust me.”

“…That so? Heh. They look like a right buncha runts, but if they’re as capable as ya say, the admin’s gonna wanna see ’em. I’ll give him a ring. In the meantime, come right on in.”

The floor suddenly jerks downward, a low, quiet humming sound can be heard around them as the floor slow, slowly begins to descend.

“…Is this a city thing? Lavender asks meekly, scooting away from the wall as she looks up, watching the entrance slowly grow further away.

Mick’s voice, shaky, speaks up. “Certainly not gonna be any part of the grand tour, that’s for sure…”