There was an unsettling mist hanging in the air. Terez led the way as she moved towards the platform, the others following in lockstep. All the while, Chronos watched in silence, wings gradually unfurling. George pressed through whatever doubts he had while following. Now was not the time for fear.

Blitzer struggled, however. Chronos unsettled him in ways that went deeper than the Charizard’s scars. He couldn’t put a claw on it. But it wasn’t fun. Anything but.

Chronos tilted his head the moment Terez got close, swaying his large and weary body around with a heavy swing of his tail.

“So here is the famed Othersider I have been hearing about. Allora has told me you would come…”The Charizard’s voice was deep, and he spoke with a rough growl. Judging by his tone, George imagined he’d been at it for a while. Seen many battles, led armies through more, his triumphs marked with blood and thunder… the scar over his eye vaguely resembled a thunderbolt, on top of that.

But Blitzer had a far darker image in mind. One of a monster that terrorised the countryside with fire, and could kill someone by merely looking at them. The scars across the Charizard’s body, the low rumble that constantly rumbled in his throat even when he didn’t speak, not to mention Chronos’ sheer size… Blitzer’s breathing sped up, his teeth partially bared.

Chronos tilted his head back, and dismissed the Charmeleon with a growl, his eyes settling on George once more.

“Allow me to make one thing crystal clear here, Othersider. The Smaugus care little for prophecies and promises. You are only worth as much as you can achieve… and I will be the judge of that myself. Not you. Not Terez. Not my wife. Nor him,” the dragon growled; Blitzer audibly gulped afterwards. George’s ears shifted back.

“Understood.” ‘Wasn’t planning on judging myself… I’m sure he’d judge himself though. While marvelling at those scars all day in the mirror. Then again, who’d blame him. Probably been in more fights than I can count.’

Terez cleared her throat. “With all due respect, we did not come here to make demands. Our goal is to show that we’re more than talk. You will find yourself agreeing with us...”

With a rumble in his throat, Chronos licked a scar that ran across the side of his snout. “Then do not disappoint me. You better hope for your own good that it’s no mere bluff.” He leaned over the four, wings fully spread. “The Smaugus way of life… Liars are nothing but fodder. Allora wouldn’t lie, of course…”

Terez gave a gentle nod; whether she was scared or genuine was unknown. “No need to fear then,” she said.

Chronos’ attention then turned towards George, who stretched a little. “Good luck… human.”

“Thank you, Charizard,” said George. Chronos’ glare intensified for a moment. George’s nerves were steeled. ‘You’re not the first strong dragon I’ve met. You have no idea at all… humans and Pokemon aren’t so different.’

Chronos cleared his throat. “Well then… we will see what you are made of in due time. We will start with some time spent Burning… yes.”

“Burning?” Blitzer asked, arms covering his chest.

Chronos scoffed. “Training, fool. We of the Smaugus will see ourselves how ready you really are. All three of you. You will start a grunt, just like everyone else. And if you do not impress me in due time… well, you better know enough to last out there.”

The Charizard turned to face the rest of the room. Not a soul in sight. Without warning, a monstrous roar came up from his belly. Chronos threw his maw open. A volcanic eruption of fire spewed out, then surged through the hall. The wall on the other end was struck and engulfed. By the time his maw closed, fire persisted in the cracks, illuminating the room in an orange glow. George’s eyes widened.

‘Th-that… could’ve killed someone.’

The flame on Chronos’ tail died down, as the Charizard’s attention fell back upon them.

“Before Ampharos here takes you to your accommodation… let me make one thing clear. You speak only to those who speak to you. Do not bother Smaugus above you… they have enough on their plate as is. Contribute to their problems, and suffer the consequences,” he grumbled. “The Smaugus way of life… respect your betters. Respect life.”

With stiff nods, George and Blitzer showed their agreement. No more than five minutes in Chronos’ company, and they both arrived at the conclusion that they’d rather not speak to him again. George stuck his hands into his dark blue fur.

‘Don’t tell me everyone here’s like this…’

Terez once again did the diplomatic work for them. “It’s a pleasure,” she said. Chronos grunted in approval.

“Ampharos, take them with you.”

“Yes, sir…” Ampharos said. His indifference over not having a name was telling.

Without any fanfare, Ampharos marched them out of the room, towards the place they would be spending the better part of the next few weeks. George could feel Chronos’ eyes burning through the back of his head while they left, and for long after that as well. Truth was, he left his freedom behind when the outside door closed. What little of it he had, anyway. He scowled while being led through the Smaugus’ fortress, contemplating his fate.

‘Ugh! Guy thinks he’s got everything figured out already. Like he knows how ‘ready’ I am! Who gave him the right to say that, huh? No one here even looks like they like him.’

The few faces they passed were all emotionless, didn’t matter their size or shape. No one spoke louder than a murmur. Every Pokemon here was so secretive, you struggled to hear so much as their footsteps.

George’s fists remained clenched when they reached their ‘accomodation’, which was scantily better than the habitats back in the base. Three Pokemon, three straw beds, three dim lights, a little space to write or store items. That was it. George sighed. No point in protesting over this. Blitzer would protest sooner, and he wasn’t saying anything.

Except there was a reason for that.

“Where did the Charmeleon go?” Ampharos asked. George looked over his shoulder. No Blitzer to be seen. Terez groaned.

“No clue. George?”

“I didn’t see him either.”

Terez yanked on her own hair. “Of all the times, ugh! Quick! Let’s find him. I’ll drag him by the tail if we need to!”

And just like that, they were right back into the claustrophobic corridors, praying Blitzer didn’t stumble into someone he shouldn’t be stumbling into.

* * *

‘Just… need… space to myself…’

After Chronos was out of sight for sure, and no one else in the group was looking his way, Blitzer quietly slipped away. He felt like a Orthworm in these tunnels. Mountains are where Charmeleon are supposed to feel at home, but this was beyond foreign. Why were all the walls blacker than tar? How come no one smiled? Where were all the colours? And worst of all, was the right to make his own decisions taken from him?

He pictured the next few weeks in his head. Do exactly as he’s told, eat the exact grub given to him, stay quiet. And if he didn’t follow those orders, he’d be thrown outside headfirst. Perhaps Chronos would do the deed personally, pulling Blitzer by the tail and then flinging him face first into the snow. He was the exact kind of Charizard people hated. Arrogant, self obsessed, belittling…

Blitzer felt sick to his stomach, and he had to get away. Somewhere, anywhere while he still could. Didn’t matter where the halls took him, it was just the first day. What were the odds he’d step somewhere he shouldn’t have? There was nary a soul to be seen, just heavy footsteps. He’d find a quiet spot somewhere. Maybe around the corner up ahead. One glance over his shoulder later, and he sped up. Just in case he was being-

“Ah!”

“Oompf!”

Just as luck would have it, he introduced himself face first into someone’s sturdy belly. He fell back on his rear, tail curled around his side, arms shielding his belly protectively. “Sorry, sorry!” he repeated before his eyes were even open. Didn’t matter who it was, this wasn’t supposed to happen.

And then he saw them. A tall, orange dragon. Chronos. Blitzer’s blood ran cold as he almost choked on his own breath. Of all the people to run into…

…it wasn’t him. They might’ve had similar chub, but it was unmistakably a Dragonite he was looking at. Blitzer gulped.

“S-sorry, I just.. I-”

“N-no,” she said. Her voice was strangely sweet. “It was my fault. I shouldn’t have-”

“Nono,” Blitzer said. “I-it was my bad, not yours. I shouldn’t have even been here. Should have stuck with… them…”

The Dragonite’s antennae lowered while she gripped tighter onto the straps running over her shoulder. A backpack, by the looks of it.

“You don’t have to worry, I… well, I got curious. I was watching you while you were talking to Chronos, and… I shouldn’t have been. But…” She shook her head. “I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to see the Othersider, and well…”

Blitzer nervously licked his lips. “But I’m not the Othersider. That’s George, he-”

She shook her head again. “Not just him, I was interested in you too. Because well… there’s no other Charizard here except for Chronos, and… to be honest, just between the two of us, he’s kind of frightening. And I wanted to get over my fears, so… s-sorry,” she muttered, shivering a little. “I shouldn’t have used you like that, it-”

“It’s okay,” Blitzer said.

The Dragonite tilted her head, her antennae following after. “Really?”

“Yeah. He scares me too. And I just got here,” Blitzer said.

Dragonite nodded. “He scares everyone. I’m sure he means well, but…”

“Yeah… I guess he does. Just have to get on his good side first.”

The Dragonite nodded, and offered a claw. “Need help getting up?”

Blitzer nodded. “Sure,” he said, accepting her claw with his own, only to cry out in surprise when she yanked him off the ground. “Aaah!”

“S-sorry!” Dragonite said. “I… I didn’t mean to pull that hard.”

“Y-you’re strong,” Blitzer said, mouth curled up in a way that made it hard to talk.

Dragonite sighed. “Yeah… I’m strong. One of the strongest in the Smaugus, actually. Uh… there’s gonna be a lot of people who’ll bring that up. I didn’t ask for it, but that’s just the way it goes. People look up to the strong here. Smaugus code. Strength is survival. So that’s why I do my best to be as strong as I can. But it’s not all good.”

Blitzer carefully folded his arms before his chest. Despite how sweet she sounded, she was still over twice his size. And more than a quarter times as strong. He imagined her crushing boulders with one punch, melting through a mountain with a Hyper Beam, and crush whoever got in her way… despite barely knowing her.

“Y-yeah, a-and I guess I’m supposed to learn from that,” the Charmeleon stuttered.

“Not from me, actually,” she said, twiddling her claws. “Chronos doesn’t actually like me talking to someone new like you, but… well, I don’t like not getting to talk.”

“Why doesn’t he let you talk?”

“Because people should work their way up themselves, not just copy from others. Well, that’s what he says, but I never understood it all that well. I wouldn’t do things the same way.”

Blitzer blinked at her. “Shouldn’t you tell him these things?”

Dragonite’s wings quivered. “No. He wouldn’t accept it. And… well, despite how cruel he looks, he does know a lot. He’s a large part of why I am so strong. He’s why no one tries anything funny on me.”

“Funny?”

“On missions, you know. We help out a lot in Whitiara and elsewhere. Noble warriors are what we are. And that’s why I like being here. I like helping people out. Especially people who need it most,” she explained. “One time I helped Pokemon drowning out at sea. It was just after I evolved… made me feel very warm inside,” she said with a flutter of her wings.

“Awesome,” Blitzer said with an excited chirp. “You sound like someone who loves their job. How long have you been doing it for?”

“Two years,” she said. Blitzer tilted his head in confusion.

“Two years? But you don’t sound that old…”

Dragonite sheepishly rubbed her head. “Yeah. I’m only fifteen. I evolved two years ago.”

“Whaat?!” Blitzer’s mouth fell open. “But Dragonite usually evolve well into adulthood! Some don’t even evolve until they’re elderly! A-and you live long!”

She chuckled. “True! We live really long… well, all Pokemon do, actually! But is it really weird to evolve sooner than usual? Like I said, I’m pretty strong!” She flexed an arm. Blood rushed to Blitzer’s face.

“I-I… yeah,” he said, struggling to stop himself from blushing. He went as far as to cover his cheeks with both claws.

“No worries,” Dragonite said… then her eyes went wide open. “Wait! I… we never introduced ourselves, did we?” she asked, still rubbing the back of her head.

“Yeah… No, I meant! We uh, we didn’t…”

She giggled. “Well, in that case, it’s been nice to meet you! I’m Sefonia!” she said, patting Blitzer on the shoulder with the back of a claw. Her scales were thick, yet comfy to the touch. Blitzer had to chuckle from it.

“N-nice meeting you too. I’m Blitzer!”

Sefonia’s giggling turned into full fledged chuckles, as she grabbed the Charmeleon by the shoulders and shook him a little. “Now, I know we’re technically not supposed to be talking, since it’s against code… but I want to stay in touch with you! Do you want to as well?”

Blitzer gulped, his scales shivering from Sefonia’s grip. Her claws were so iron tight, even his strongest feat couldn’t chalk up to it in his head.

“Err, why? N-no offense of course…”

“You’re the first outsider I’ve been able to talk to in a long while… Usually I can’t talk much in a fight or after a fight. And when I can talk to someone, well, I get reprimanded for it.”

Blitzer’s feet shifted around. He shot a brief glance over his shoulder, his tail flame dimmed, just to make sure no one was eavesdropping or about to stumble into them talking. If talking would get her into trouble, he didn’t want to imagine what mess he’d be in.

“That… seems awfully strict. For no reason… o-okay, there’s probably a reason for it, but I don’t get it.”

Sefonia’s tongue dipped out of her mouth for a split second. “Neither do I, really. Chronos and the others say it’s because he doesn’t want my mind to get corrupted. Apparently, talking to other people distracts me from my training. Or ruins what I’ve learned.” She raised her claws. “Before you ask, no, I don’t get it either.”

Blitzer nodded. “That Chronos, huh. Everything is code this, code that.” ‘And a looot of attitude on top of that!’ “I get that he’s done a lot. Well, I’m taking everyone’s word on it, but I’m not the biggest fan.”

Sefonia cautiously nodded. ”You have to have been here for a while, then you get it. Although, and this is just me speaking from the heart here… wait.” She poked her head up as she placed a claw over her heart, her antennae pitching up in sync. “Uh, uh… there’s someone coming behind you. I think you should go.”

“Right, right,” Blitzer said, a chill passing through his body. “Do you know where to-”

“Just behind me, go,” Sefonia ordered him. “Don’t tell anyone you saw me. Quick.”

The gentleness in the Dragonite’s voice was gone in a flash. Coming from her, it was an order, and Blitzer was not about to disobey. She could squish him like a bug if she wanted, thus he hurried off, hoping things weren’t about to spiral out of control. He didn’t stick around to find out lest he was caught. So away he ran, with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

‘Nrgh… there’s so much more I have to ask her… just, anything to keep my head on straight while I’m here. But what’s with the attitude? She just… I… just one to a hundred. Did I annoy her?’

Thoughts swirling in his mind didn’t make his ‘escape’ any easier. He hopped around with his tail in his hand, trying his damndest to suppress any ill feelings inside, all the while hoping he’d magically find his way back to George and the others without being seen. With how well going undetected went moments earlier, he wasn’t counting the odds in his favour.

Black passage after black passage, each with all sorts of side rooms and odd structures. No markers or arrows to guide the path, no friendly face or distinguishing features to lend a hand. Right right, left left, up and down then right and right, Blitzer lost what little track he had of his surroundings pretty quickly. Unless there was something on the walls he was missing, everything looked the same. And even if the walls contained any clues, how was he supposed to figure that out?

Unwilling to differentiate one black splotch from the next, he bumbled around for a while longer. After a few minutes, he somehow had found his way back to the main hall, much to his own horror. Fortunately, Chronos wasn’t here anymore. But how long had it been? He couldn’t stick around for long. Someone was bound to find him here eventually.

And that someone just so happened to come quicker than he feared.

“You. Blitzer. Get over here.”

The Charmeleon gasped, winced, and struggled to not fall over. Who in the world knew his name already? Just the Ampharos that had welcomed them in, it turned out. He stood at the mouth of a hallway, frowning. And right behind him, Terez stared at him like a grumpy teenage babysitter, frustrated she was stuck with the most hyperactive child in the world. It was like their ages had been cut in half.

“You’re going to get us into trouble. Come now.”

Before Blitzer could so much as utter a yes, Terez gave him a firm yank with her telekinesis. So much for agreeing to come along quietly.

‘Don’t say anything, Blitzer. Just don’t, unless you like being dragged by the tail… Dad had to do that enough.’

After a quiet and awkward walk back, Blitzer was unceremoniously dumped onto his bed, Terez crashing on her own at the other end of the room moments later. The Charmeleon grumbled and looked around. Nothing but rocky black walls, scant amounts of storage and a place to write. No decoration, no nothing. He sighed. What a dreary place this was. George didn’t look psyched to be here, either. was on the bed next to him, laying on his back while staring up at the ceiling, head propped up by his hands. It didn’t look comfortable.

“Hey Geo-”

Terez snapped her fingers, and Blitzer immediately left out a soft yowl.

“Shut it.”

“That hurt!”

“You think that’s bad? What if you were seen out there?” Terez fidgeted with her dress. “We’ve got one shot here. Don’t blow it.”

“Fine, fine…” ‘Why do we have to even be here… this place is horrible.’

George then sat back upright with a sigh. “Don’t argue over this. Please. You’re not making this any easier.”

“Exactly,” Terez said. “Allora has told me exactly how everything is going to go. Patience. As long as you two don’t go running off, we can get exactly what we need. Everything will end up in the right place, and that will be the end of it. Understood?”

George and Blitzer both nodded, the former moreso. “Yes. Where is Allora, though?”

“Not in the base,” Terez said. “She is working on making sure we won’t get jumped by a thousand Soldiers the second we get anywhere near Tirasford.”

“Right…” George bit his lip, and rolled onto his side in an even more awkward looking position. One of his scalchops was sandwiched between the bed and his hip. Blitzer licked the back of his teeth. Humans were weird creatures, the more he thought about it.

“Did you see anything while walking around?”

Blitzer was quiet, unsure of whether to mention Sefonia or not.

“Don’t even bother. We should prepare ourselves for tomorrow. It will be a long day. You best get caught up on sleep.” Terez ran a hand through her hair.

“The day’s not that old,” George mumbled.

“Even then.”

At that moment, the door went open. Ampharos stepped in with a nondescript look on his face, like he was reading a newspaper.

“We’re here to tour you through the base. Come quickly.”

The three were slow to get up, Blitzer most of all.

‘Oh, bother. Here goes nothing again...’