UID: K1038-B2
Location: Outskirts of Fort Garreg
Time: 0200 Hours (4 hours after Daemon's disappearance)
"Daemon? Daemon, where are you!?"
Abigail, bruised but still alive, sprinted through the woods in a panic in the direction she had seen her son flee. She stopped in her tracks once she arrived at carnage Daemon had inadvertently left behind and among the exploded corpses a cleanup crew sent by the Egrecorps. The crew turned around, scanning her form.
"Target identified, permission to subdue?" One of the individuals spoke into their radio.
"...Understood." They spoke again after a few seconds.
Upon hearing this, Abigail scrambled backwards to flee from the group who were proceeding to give chase. She ran as far as her tired legs could carry her, through the woods and out onto a road stretching through the forest and into the horizon to the north and southeast. Panting heavily, she looked behind her, her pursuers long out of sight, only their searchlights shimmering through trees could be visible, yet she did not stop running. She ran until her legs buckled, collapsing to the asphalt, tears in her eyes.
"Daemon… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…" She quietly wept to herself, feeling like she had abandoned her son in the heat of the chaos, but what could she do? She certainly couldn't pinpoint him in these dense woods, especially not with those soldiers tracking her. But she had to think of something, she couldn't stay here like a sitting duck.
In the midst of contemplation, her eyes were blinded by the headlights of an oncoming vehicle that swerved to the side, screeching to a halt mere feet from her. A tall silhouette emerged from behind the glow of the headlights, the unknown figure causing Abigail to fumble7 back to her feet, ready to slash at the potential aggressor.
"Whoa, easy there, girl." The figure spoke in a calm tone, kneeling down slowly so as to not seem like a threat. Abigail gasped when their face became visible through the blinding light, it was a human. Their skin was tan, a light burn mark above their brow. Their hair was of medium length, black in color and slicked back. Their amber eyes alert yet soft and holding a calming aura.
"Huh, you don't look feral. What happened to your trainer, girl?" The human spoke softly.
"Y-you have to help me… please." Abigail please, hesitant to put her trust in a human, but out of options.
"What the- You can… speak English?" The human questioned, looking completely flabbergasted.
Before he could ask any more questions, the searchlights of Abigail's pursuers shone through the trees, followed by one of them yelling out orders to keep an eye out.
Abigail panicked and the human, understanding the dire situation she must be in, hurried her into the back of his car.
Just as he began to open the driver side door, he heard the shouting of the pursuers becoming louder and clearer.
"You there! Step away from the vehicle and relinquish the Absol immediately!" One of them shouted, raising their firearm towards them.
The human quickly jumped into the driver's seat, a shield of psychic energy covering him.
"Julias, gun it, quick!" A voice in the passenger seat ordered as the vehicle began to speed away from the group now opening fire upon them.
"Galia, are they still after us?" The human asked as Abigail's pursuers grew too small to see in the rear view mirror.
"I think we're good." They said, their glowing eyes fading, the psychic shield fading with them.
The human breathed a sigh of relief as the assailants grew increasingly more distant in the rear view mirror. Glancing back at Abigail who was huddled in the back seat.
"You okay back there?" He asked.
"Yeah. Thank you, Mister…?" Abigail responded.
"Name's Julias." The human introduced himself. "This is Galia." He gestured to the figure in the passenger seat.
Although it was hard to tell through both the dark of night and the hoodie they wore, their white skin, green hair and the red horn sticking out of their chest were evidence enough to assume that they were a gardevoir.
The Psychic humanoid Pokémon waved, a warm smile on her face. "Nice to meet you, what's your name?"
"Abigail." Abigail introduced herself.
After introductions, Julias began his questions again. "Why were those guys after you?" He began.
"I don't know, they appeared out of nowhere and just started attacking us. My son and I just barely escaped…"
"Your son? Oh god." Galia gasped. "W-We didn't know you had a child… Were they with you?"
Abigail looked down at her paws, a sad look on her face. "No… when we were attacked I told him to run. I've been looking for him ever since things cleared up."
"Damn… I'm sorry…" Julias sighed.
"It's okay… Daemon's a tough boy, he knows how to handle himself, I know we'll see each other again." Abigail spoke, looking out the window into the passing trees of the forest.
"Do you have a home around here, Abigail?" Julias spoke up after a moment of silence.
Abigail winced as memories were dredged up by his words, all the torment she suffered at the hands of Fort Garreg's scientists to create Daemon.
"...No, I don't." She eventually replied, her tone somber.
Julias and Galia exchanged glances with one another, Galia giving an affirming nod as she made a subtle gesture towards Abigail, who was still staring out the window.
"Hey, Abigail." Julias began. "You could stay with us for a while - at least until you find your son. If you want to, that is."
Abigail's ears perked up. "Are you sure? I… wouldn't want to cause any trouble for you."
Julias shook his head and waved off her doubt. "Sure I'm sure, it's no trouble at all."
"Don't worry, if those guts come looking for you, the girls will keep you safe." Galia added.
Abigail admittedly found the offer quite tempting compared to the alternative; remain on the streets, labeled by any passing trainer as a wild animal ripe for the capture.
The thought of being some human's property once again sickened her. She would not capitulate to another stranger, yet she foresaw nothing to indicate that Julias or his Pokemon passenger were trying to deceive her.
"I'd appreciate that, Julias… Thank you." She replied, looking through the window once again. Despite still being a little bit hesitant, she smiled as she felt a glimmer of hope within her heart.
The ride was long and mostly silent, by the time they had made it out of the forest, the light of dawn had begun to reveal itself over the horizon. Rolling hills of grass dotted with sparse trees and patches of tall grass stretched into the distance of the roadside. Abigail drank in the serene view after years of being stuck behind electric fences and towering concrete walls.
"Here we are." Julias announced. "Home sweet home."
Abigail turned to look through the dashboard window, her mouth agape at what she saw. A large fenced in manor, several smaller buildings along its outskirts. The front courtyard was outlined with neatly trimmed hedges, an intricate fountain prominently displayed in the center.
Parking the car outside the garage to the right of the manor, Julias got out of the vehicle to help Abigail, Galia walking ahead to the front door.
"Here, let me help you." Julias said, offering to help the tired and weary Absol.
"Thank you, but I've got this." Abigail responded as she slowly finagled her way out of the back seat.
Walking along the courtyard's paved pathway, the sounds of struggling could be heard inside approaching the front door. Abigail stopped in her tracks as she saw a dinosaur-like Pokemon storm through the door a flailing human carried over their shoulders. They stood at about 5 feet covered in light green scales with several large spikes protruding from their back, a pale blue crest on their chest - a Tyranitar.
"And… stay out!" The Pokémon yelled, tossing the human and landing them into a patch of mud, several feet from the exit.
"Nice throw, Laura! I'd give that 200 points." Spoke another Pokémon who was patrolling the grounds. They stood at about the same height, the surface of their body covered in thick dark gray rock-like armored plating, accented with raw iron bands around their wrists and ankles. Their head also consisted primarily of the same iron, two long sharp horns jutting from their forehead - an Aggron.
"Thanks, Sasha! I think that about beats your record." The Tyranitar giggled, clasping her claws.
Julias smiled and rolled his eyes at the two Mon's shenanigans. "Alright, what did I say about using our clients to play your little games?"
"Sorry, master." The embarrassed Mons said in unison, Galia using her psychic power to translate their speech.
In the midst of this, they looked past Julias, taking note of Abigail standing behind him.
"Oh, who's this?" The Aggron asked, her head cocked to the side.
"This is Abigail. She's gonna be staying with us for the time being." Julias introduced the Absol as she stepped out from behind to greet the two large Mons.
"I see… Well, I'd best get back to it. Glad to meet you, Abigail." She said, returning to her patrol.
Julias squeezed past Laura and through the door, gesturing to Abigail and Galia to follow.
The front room of the manor, sporting two staircases on either side, was fashioned into a makeshift reception area. Several chairs lined the walls, a metal detector constructed within the doorway and desk slid up against the side of the left staircase. A horde of various Pokémon were crammed in the room, an eruption of voices emanating from them as they welcomed their master home. Julias gave a flustered grin as he glanced at the two behind him.
"Uh… looks like I got some things I need to attend to. Galia, why don't you show Abigail around, get her acquainted." Julias said, walking towards the group of Mons.
"With pleasure, master." Galia replied with a bow, walking past him, Abigail in tow.
"Hey, I have a few questions, you wouldn't mind, would you?" Abigail asked as she and Galia made their way past the stairs and into one of the first floor hallways.
"Ask away." Galia responded.
Abigail cleared her throat as she began. "Well, I couldn't help but notice all of you calling Julias your 'master'. Is everyone here his… property?"
"Oh, heavens no. All of the girls are here of their own free will. That line of thinking is beneath Julias." Galia couldn't help but laugh at her absurd choice of words as she replied.
"Are all of the pokemon here female? I don't think I spotted a single male in that entire group." Abigail continued.
"All one hundred percent of them." Galia said with a slight tinge of pride in her voice. "Only male here is Julias, excluding any clients we receive."
"What specifically male clients?" Abigail inquired.
Galia blushed slightly as she responded. "Well… the type of business we run here is… complicated to explain in detail. You see, male humans often come around here looking for specific Pokémon to-"
"Fuck!" Yelled a voice from down the hallway, overpowering Galia's response and breaking her train of thought.
A bipedal rabbit Pokemon sporting light brown fur and cream colored fluff covering her wrists and large ears came storming out of one of the many adjacent rooms - a Lopunny, and one that did not look too happy. Following close behind her was a bipedal jackal-like Pokémon with black and blue fur, a metal spike protruding from their chest and hands - A Lucario.
"Why does Laura always have to ruin my fun!?" The Lopunny whined, arms crossed as she pouted.
"Ginger, I know you enjoy a bit of rough play every now and then, but even you have to agree that limits need to be put in place, otherwise a lot of the girls could wind up getting hurt." The Lucario explained.
Galia sighed, placing a hand to her forehead. "I should've known Ginger would throw a fit at the worst possible time, I'm sorry about that. How about we go the other way, Perhaps starting in the West Wing will prove less… dramatic."
As they turned to head in the opposite direction, they were halted by the voice of the Lucario.
"Hold it! Now, now, Galia, aren't you going to introduce us to the new girl?" They asked, approaching Abigail. "Nice to see a new face around here. Name's Kary," They greeted, extending a hand.
"...Hello, I'm-" Before Abigail could introduce herself, Ginger pushed past Kary, her face beaming with excitement.
"Oh. My. God. you're going to love it here! Where did he find you? Are you going to be a service girl too?" She asked, eyes brimming with anticipation.
"Wha- I- I will do no such thing!" Abigail exclaimed, taken aback that they were so quick to jump to the conclusion of her working as an escort.
"Ginger, she doesn't have to work the floor if she doesn't want to, you know that." Galia spoke, scolding Ginger. "Now run along and let me get our new guest here acquainted with the house."
Ginger turned her nose up as she walked away, arms crossed "Hm, fine. We can talk later, I guess." She quickly glanced at Abigail before walking away.
"Allow me to apologize for Ginger's crass behavior, you know how Lopunies are, the term 'breeding like rabbits' exists for a reason." Galia spoke in a hushed tone as Ginger herself was still within earshot.
"True enough." Abigail responded, slowly shaking her head at the event that just unfolded.
"Anywho..." Galia cleared her throat. "If you'll follow me we can continue our tour of the East Wing. Then we can loop around to the garden for a short breather. "
Abigail nodded, beginning to follow the Gardevoir, before her foresight hit her mind like a truck, sending her stumbling into the wall.
"Abigail! Are you okay!?" Galia asked, kneeling down to help her.
Breathing heavily, Abigail reeled as the vision ran through her head, depictions of the very same ships that attacked Fort Garreg and flashes of the manor she was in at this very moment ran by her vision. What caught her attention the most however, was the sound of Daemon's voice, although distant and nearly intelligible, she could sense panic, terror and desperation through the incomprehensible sound.
Abigail opened her eyes, looking around frantically. "I… I heard him… He survived!"
Galia looked at her confused for a moment. "Who survived? Do you mean…"
"Daemon… He's out there… and he's looking for me as well." Abigail smiled, proud that her son was still alive.
This brief moment of happiness however was short lived, her smile fading as she read more into her foresight, for with all Absols, every vision predicted some form of disaster.
Abigail's thoughts began to run as the worst case scenario formed in her head. "Those ships… and this mansion. That could only mean…"
"Yeah, she's right over here. Hey, Abigail!" Julias called out from across the hall. "Got a trainer here looking for you!"
Abigail, confused and skeptical, refused to heed his words. After a few brief moments. Julias came down the hall, followed by a strange girl dressed in black with short red hair that Abigail had never seen before.
"There you are Abby! I've been looking all over for you!" The girl excitedly proclaimed as she ran up to the Absol.
Abigail took a defensive stance, slowly backing away from the stranger.
"You're not my trainer…" she growled, baring her teeth. "Stay back, now!"
"Oh, Abby, don't you remember me? I know you and Daemon spent years in that horrible prison, but now we can finally go home." The girl said with a warm smile.
Abigail's eyes widened as she said that, glaring at the stranger. With fear and hatred in her eyes, she angled her horn, ready to strike.
"My trainer abandoned me there! They would've known nothing about Daemon!" Abigail spat with vitriol. "Now tell me who the hell you are!"
The strange girl knelt down, ignorant to Abigail's intimidation. In a state of complete fear and panic, Abigail slashed at the girl, her horn getting caught by an invisible force, catching her, Julias and Galia off guard. The girl grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up off the ground and slamming her against the wall.
"Whoa! What do you think you're doing!?" Julias exclaimed, attempting to pry the girl off of Abigail, the sane invisible force grabbing him by his shirt collar and tossing him away.
"Master!" Galia cried, running to aid Julias, only to have the invisible force knock her down, pinning her to the ground against her stomach.
The cause of the invisible force had begun to shimmer into sight, revealing several Egrecorps soldiers, two holding Julias and Galia down, with 4 others blocking the hallway.
"I've had enough of this damned facade, never was a fan of espionage anyhow…" The girl stated with a sigh, her form shimmering and shifting. Time itself felt as though it had slowed to a crawl, the world turning blurred and colorless beyond her and the soldier's aura as she morphed into a heavily armored unit clad in dark armor, a fiery red plume draped down their back - the Egrecore's commander.
"Y-you! You're the one who attacked us and stole away my child!" Abigail yelled, clawing at the commander's hand around her throat.
"Stole?" The commander laughed. "I have no use for that test tube mutant you call a son. All I care about is the soul well you carry."
Abigail gave them a confused look. "What do you mean? W-What's a 'soul well'?"
"Don't you play dumb with me, it is that very thing around your neck!" The commander barked, grasping into Abigail's chest fur only to find nothing. "What the… Where is it!"
The commander threw Abigail to the ground in frustration, marching past as the soldiers blocking the halfway held her at gunpoint.
"This is Alpha-1, the soul well is no longer in the Absol's possession." They announced over their radio, an indistinct, static filled voice heeding their message.
"Hmm… very well, send the coordinates over…" They responded to the voice as a hologram depicting thousands of stars appeared in front of them, one shining far brighter among the rest.
"Well, well, universe W441-V7… how long has it been, I wonder?" The commander stared upon the glowing holographic star as the static filled voice spoke once more.
"Alpha-1…" They responded to the voice. "What do you mean this won't require my expertise…!? I see… Yes sir… Then I'll send a small strike team to deal with the little one." The commander ended their conversation over the radio, gesturing for the soldiers aiming at Abigail.
"Change of plans, I want you four to head to Red Valley, find the little one and bring him to us alive." The commander ordered the soldiers
Lowering their guns, they gave their salute before disappearing in a beam of light, the other 4 soldiers following soon after. A rift opened behind the commander, who turned to Abigail before walking through it.
"As for you…" They began. "Appreciate the mercy shown to you on this day. Enjoy your time with these harlots." They laughed as they disappeared into the closing rift, the time dilating aura fading with it.
Julias and Galia both got to their feet, with Julias rushing over to check in Abigail.
"Hey… Are you okay?" Julias spoke calmly trying to console Abigail.
"What have I done… I've… I've doomed him." Abigail whispered, tears falling down her face as she began to break down into hysterics. "Daemon is in danger… and it's all my fault!"
"Come on, don't say that." Galia reassured her. "You said it yourself, your son is tough and I could sense you were sincere when you said that."
Kary and Ginger ran up to the three, Laura in tow, worried expressions on their faces.
"Master, what's going on? We heard yelling and stuff." Ginger asked.
"Is everything okay?" Kary added.
Julias sighed. "Everything's fine. I need you to go check on the other girls, make sure they're okay…" He turned to Galia. "and I want you to go with them."
"Of course, master." Galia responded with a bow as she got up to follow the rabbit and jackal.
Moments later Julias and Abigail were out in the garden, sitting next to one another on a stone bench among the flowers.
"Fort Garreg, huh?" Julias began. "That explains the distant lights me and Galia saw on our drive. I would've passed it off as some rogue lightning, but this…"
"It doesn't make any sense, normally I can sense a disaster hours in advance, but I was unable to foresee them until they were right on top of us…" Abigail responded, racking her brain for an explanation..
"What that dark brooding guy said, that you spent years trapped in a prison?" He stated.
Abigail remained silent for a moment before speaking again. "...Yes. I'm afraid it is."
With a sigh, Julias embraced Abigail. She flinched at this action, having spent years away from the benevolent actions of humans, but his body warmth was oddly comforting.
"I may not know what you went through there, and lord knows you don't need to tell me. I just want you to know that you'll never need to face such injustice again, not as long as I'm here." Julias stated, releasing his embrace. "Understand?"
Abigail nodded, a smile crawling onto her quivering lips. "I understand, Julias, and thank you, for everything." Her smile faltered. "But… these people that threaten us… they worry me. I can't help but think of what'll happen to Daemon, if I lose him…"
"It won't come to that." Julias attempted to dispel her negative thoughts. "Keep that chin up and those thoughts positive for me, okay? You'll be reunited again someday."
Abigail smiled, embracing Julias back, soaking in the comforting warmth once again. Maybe now, the years of torture and experimentation she was subject to were slowly coming to an an end.
