HOME | DD

Description
"Get OFF!"

*Fwoosh*

Jake stared, wide eyed for a moment as a bristling column of fire erupted from his maw and struck the incoming Sableye. He could feel the incredible heat rolling off his tongue into the Sableyes' faces, but it didn't feel like his mouth was getting burned itself. Jake snapped his jaws shut and the searing flames were instantly cut off. For a split second everyone was too stunned to really move; the Croagunk on Jake's back loosened their grip by a fraction as they contemplated what had just happened and how to respond. That split second was all Jake needed. With all his might, he pushed his entire weight upward and jerked around to buck the poison type pokemon off him. They crashed to the ground in a circle around Jake, slightly dizzy but not out.

The grunts that had just seen the Arcanine before them just take out their pokemon with just one attack were backing away, hoping to slip away without a sound.

"What are you standing around for?!" The presumed commanding grunt shouted at the collared pokemon and other grunts, "Take him out!"

The other grunts and pokemon that were momentarily stunned by the sudden surprise attack quickly regained their senses and resumed the battle. Each of the remaining 4 grunts was issuing commands to one Croagunk and one Sableye, or what was left of their forces. They surrounded Jake, but now the PEF member had a new advantage.

"Croagunk, use Poison Jab!" the first grunt ordered.

A Croagunk on Jake's right shot forward from the ring to attack, its claws dripping with venom. Jake tensed; as soon as the Croagunk went for the swipe Jake dodged to the left.

'Lucky this is getting easier,' Jake thought.

The Croagunk turned, preparing to charge again. Jake planted his paws firmly to the ground and took aim. He inhaled a quick breath, remembering the feeling of how he used the Flamethrower attack; white hot anger but with a sense of passion, and breathed out again forcefully. He felt a small tickle at the back of his throat and a column of red hot flames shot out just like before, knocking the Croagunk away with surprising force.

"Use Shadow Claw, Sableye," Two grunts commanded at once.

There was no time for rest or celebration in battle as the two Sableye on either side of Jake jumped into the fray. Their claws glowed with a dark, sinister energy that were Shadow Claw attacks. The Sableye on the left missed entirely, but the one on the right was luckier and caught Jake's flank. The short gash drew a few spurts of blood. Jake gasped in pain, but his training did not let that keep him down and he back up ready to retaliate. The Sableye had no time to defend or dodge and took a powerful claw swipe to the face. Turning around, Jake caught the other Sableye in a Flamethrower, knocking it into and out with the other. The Team Sigma grunts were starting to get worried, or more over starting to really show their fear as they lost their upper hand.

"What are you idiots waiting for?!" the lead grunt yelled again, "We have to attack him all at once!"

It was a good plan, the others thought; their sheer numbers would easily overpower just one Arcanine. With their orders, the rest of the collared pokemon circled like Luxray hunting easy prey.

"5 against 1, now this doesn't seem fair," Jake said sarcastically, "You'd probably need at least 10 more to make this an even fight."

The collared pokemon seemed unfazed by the snide remark, but as for the grunts, most of them were fuming and ordered their pokemon to attack. Jake used his hind legs to buck a Sableye behind him first; a direct hit to the face. A Croagunk and Sableye tried to double team from either side only to crash into each other after Jake jumped out of the way. Jake blasted them both with a Flamethrower attack while they were still stunned; two down. The first Sableye from before got up and was back for revenge. Jake didn't see the last attack coming and caught another Shadow Claw attack along his side. Jake hissed from the pain, but he wasn't about to let a little scratch put him down. Quick on the reversal, the Sableye dropped instantly as Jake swiped it with his claws. All that was left was a lone Croagunk for Team Sigma's side. All expect the lead grunt had fled in terror after their defeat.

Whether it was out of courage or stubbornness, the last grunt stood his ground, his final collared pokemon idling by his side. Though Jake could see the grunt shaking a bit in rage as well as fear; he couldn't help but snicker to himself.

"Are we about done yet, or do you want me to keep kicking your ass?" Jake taunted, his tail wagging playfully.

The grunt stomped his feet as if he were a child throwing a tantrum, "Grr, you're not going to get away with that! Croagunk make him pay for that!"

The mindless Croagunk charged forth in a wild frenzy. Jake and the Croagunk tumbled to the ground as they struggled to gain the upper hand. Jake took a Brick Break to the side, that was definitely gonna sting in the morning. He shook the pain away and delivered a quick sideswipe with a paw. The Croagunk got back up, though shifted much of its weight to its left leg as the other had taken the brunt of the last hit. Jake saw this and readied to attack. He jumped forward toward the Croagunk, claws extended to pounce on top of the poison-type.

"Croagunk, jump out of the way," The grunt commanded.

Just as Jake thought, the Croagunk could only push off to the left side from its left leg though still made it a good five feet in the air. Jake landed on the spot where the Croagunk first stood, and swiftly turned to the aerial amphibian.

"One order of extra crispy frog legs, coming up," Jake said and shot a Flamethrower.

The Croagunk had only just touched the ground with its toes before the simmering heat was in front of its face. Fully engulfed in the raging fire by the time it landed on the ground, giving a final cry of pain before falling over in a heap. Jake breathed heavily as his fight ended, him being victorious.

"And as for you," Jake said, turning toward the Team Sigma grunt.

Unfortunately, the grunt was already gone. A small cloud of dust was kicked up in the distance; the sounds of faint cursing followed it.

Jake rolled his eyes, "Should have known."

*Boom*

It wasn't over yet, Jake thought. The jeeps with the grunts that were trying to escape with the odd tablets were still there. One of the jeeps was set ablaze though, which must have been the source of the explosion.

Haze and Dagger fought side by side against the Team Sigma grunts and their collared pokemon managing to knock out more than half of the pokemon already. The two PEF pokemon had taken a couple hits themselves, but were otherwise free of any major injuries. During the battle, a few 'brave' grunts tried to make a break for one of the jeeps with a tablet, only to be cut off by the jeep igniting into a fireball thanks to Haze.

"Hey Dagger, how many have you taken out so far," Haze asked as she rolled a Croagunk over her shoulder.

Dagger blasted a Shellos with a Psycho Cut before answering, "This isn't a contest, but if you have to know, 12."

"No way, you're cheating with your score. I've only got 10," Haze snapped and kicked another Elekid in the face, "make that 11."

Dagger blinked, his version of a sarcastic scoff, "maybe you're not as good as you think."

Haze reeled as the remark and was about to retort, when Dagger launched himself over her to smack an Electrike out of the air behind her.

"By the way, 13," Dagger said tonelessly, but Haze saw the almost nonexistent smirk on his face.

"Haze on your left," Jake called as he ran.

Haze saw it a mile away and ducked under the Water gun attack from a Shellos. Jake had made to Dagger's side and blasted a troublesome Sableye away with a Flamethrower before it got close.

"You've learned to use Flamethrower," Dagger said with a hint a surprise.

Jake felt a little pride from the praise, "Sure did, but it's the only attack I can use as far as I can tell."

"That's cool and all, so why not use it to help out your other partner then!" Haze called as she tried to fight off two Electrikes at once.

With all but a few Electrikes and Shellos left, the odds shifted toward Haze and Dagger's previously even match up. Jake and Haze took a powerful Water gun attack leaving both soaked and Jake with little energy left.

"Look at the bright side," Haze helped Jake up, "Now you don't need a bath when we get back."

Jake shook himself dry as best he could, "Shut up."

*Vroom*

While the team was distracted with fighting the collared pokemon, the remaining grunts had managed to pile into the two undamaged jeeps and were preparing to escape. The first tore off, tires squealing as it took off and escaped. The second unfortunately got its back tires stuck in a nasty patch of loose gravel and dirt, causing it to spin its tires in place.

"Quick, don't let them get away!" Haze shouted, dropping an unconscious Croagunk she was beating.

"Shit," the grunt in the back seat said, looking out the rear view to see the Blaziken sprinting toward them, "Step on it man!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" the grunt behind the wheel kicked the accelerator repeatedly.

The grunts argued, but just before Haze could lay a hand on the stuck jeep, the wheelman gave one more kick to the gas pedal. The back wheels spun furiously, sending a wave of dirt and gravel at Haze's face. She screamed, blinded and continued to take the pelting of shooting gravel until the jeep became unstuck. The grunts in the jeep cheered for the wheelman as they drove off toward their escape route.

"You're not getting away that easily. Dagger, get ready!" Jake called out.

He shot a mighty Flamethrower in the jeep's direction; the vehicle swerved to avoid the fireball, but the real intention of the attack was made clear as the chokepoint like escape route was engulfed in fire. Dagger watched the jeep burnout as it pulled a 180 to avoid the wall of flames and head back toward him.

"Dude watch out for that Gallade!" the grunt riding shotgun pointed.

"I got it man. Time for a splatter kill," the driver grunt said and pushed his foot harder into the gas pedal.

The engine revved, the jeep picked up speed and bounced over the rocky terrain. Dagger didn't move, standing perfectly still like a matador facing a charging Tauros. Like a scene from a movie; the jeep was mere feet away. Dagger crouched and rolled to the side, extending his forearm blade out. The jeep kept going with its momentum and collided with the outstretched blade. The right side of the jeep's exterior squealed in pain as the blade tore into the metal, catching the first tire and then the second. The tires blew with a loud pop and hiss; the entire jeep skidded out of control and flipped over its side in a barrel roll. The grunts screamed inside the tumbling jeep, praying to Arceus they had remembered their seatbelts. The jeep rolled once, twice, three times then tipping precariously at the edge of the cliffside. The wheels came down on the right side settling with a thud. The jeep was totaled, no longer running as one by one the disoriented grunts crawled out from the vehicle.

"I told you to watch out for that Gallade," The first grunt coughed.

"Shut up man," the driver grunt snapped back, "Is the tablet safe? Kaiser will kill us if that even so much gets a scratch."

He got no reply and shook his head to clear the ringing in his ears. The third grunt that had been riding in the backseat with the tablet seemed like he was paralyzed as he sat leaning against the crumbled jeep. He was clutching the tablet with a face of pure terror, not paying attention to the other two grunts at all. The first two grunts didn't understand their buddy's demeanor until they looked up. Standing above them was one pissed off Blaziken that was cracking her knuckles.

"Payback time Sigma runts," Haze narrowed her eyes.

The other two grunts were now just as terrified as their buddy. They of course had no idea what the Blaziken said but her fiery expressions were all they need to see to have them shaking in fear with pleas of mercy.

"Haze, we need to retrieve the tablet first, so don't damage it," Jake said.

The grunt holding the tablet looked down at the precious object in his hands, understanding how important it was and came up with a quick plan.

"Y-you want the tablet huh? Then go get it!" The grunt said and threw the slab of stone as hard as he could over the Blaziken's head.

Haze tried to snatch it, but only brushed the tips of her talons against the smooth stone slab. All eyes were on the tablet as it arced through the air. There was no doubt that it was headed straight for the Cliffside and would be lost forever if it went over the edge

Jake sprinted after the soaring tablet; his only thought was to prevent it from going over the edge. He leapt up, jaws open wide and snapping shut on the stone slab. He couldn't believe he just caught it but he did, though catching it with his mouth like a dog left the unpleasant taste of dirt on his tongue. There was another, bigger problem now though; he had overestimated his jump and was overlooking the ocean right below him now. He flailed in midair hoping it would bring him back to the safety of the rocky cliffs behind him. Like that would work; and now he was falling, the sea salt air whipping his fur about. Probably the second scariest free fall of his life in one day was suddenly cut short by a lazy purple veil of psychic energy now holding him in place. Jake breathed a sigh of relief as his partner Dagger raised him back up onto solid ground. Both Haze and Dagger stood waiting at the edge of the cliff Jake had jumped off and smiled once he had returned.

"That was very reckless," Dagger lectured, "I could have gotten the tablet without your stunt."

Jake snorted, "Eh, ah leash I ga he halet."

"Nobody likes to hear someone talk with their mouth full Fido," Haze sneered.

Jake glared at her and laid the tablet down, spitting out the taste of dirt as well.

"I swear, you're having too much fun with these jokes," Jake said, "What happened to those Team Sigma grunts?"

Haze snorted and crossed her arms, "Cowards, they ran off while I was distracted."

"Dang, we could have interrogated them to find out what so special about these tablets they're collecting."

The face of the cold stone slab was riddled with lines of characters Jake had never seen before. A few pictures were etched into the rock, but they too were indecipherable.

"*sigh* Maybe we can pull something off the computers they bought."

"Can't," Dagger said plainly, pointing over to the ruins of the equipment and machines the Team Sigma grunts had brought.

"Gee Haze, and you used to have trouble aiming for the broadside of a barn," Jake smirked.

Haze blushed in anger, "Shut up, not my fault everything got busted."

"Sure," Dagger brushed past her, "seeing how everything in on fire."

"Nobody asked you!" Haze stomped her foot.

Jake shook his head with a smirk, "Ok, can one of you pick up my receiver and call HQ to send us a pick up? We need to get this tablet back for analysis."

---

Jake and his team made a quick stop to the infirmary to get patched up from their scrapes and bruises before heading up to the Intel room for their debriefing. The tablet they had recovered was transferred to the research wing where it would hopefully be deciphered. Back in the Intel room, Jake gave the details to Admin Dakota on their mission.

"…And that's all we have to report," Jake concluded.

Dakota scratched the back of his head, "It's a shame we only recovered one of the tablets."

Jake bowed his head in disappointment, "Sorry we couldn't retrieve anything more useful sir."

"Nonsense," Dakota piped up, "The tablet is more than we could have asked for. We have our best scientists overlooking the analysis as we speak, so we'll find out what Team Sigma is up to soon enough."

*beep, beep, beep. Beep, beep, beep*

Dakota's Receiver chimed in and he picked it up from his pocket.

"Hello, hello? Can you hear me?" A familiar voice came from the device.

"Loud and clear Professor Alex, but why is the video feed all fuzzy?"

"Oh right," Professor Alex said through the static covering the screen, "Sorry, I've been trying to boost the Receiver's transmission frequency to enable better communications. So far my work has caused an opposite effect. You see a Heracross has a unique shell that it sheds once a year that has a special texture that blocks out radio interference. They have this so that they aren't attracted to the frequencies given off by electronics such as satellite tv dishes and other devices and can find their each other using the 'hum' they give off by vibrating their wings a certain way. I'm trying to adapt the shell to the wire casing in the Receiver to block out interference in the same way, but it seems to work vice versa at the moment cutting the video feed. So-"

"Now I know this isn't the real reason that you're calling, right professor?" Dakota cut off Professor Alex's ramble.

"Ack, right. I have some excellent news. That reversal method to Jake's condition is finished and ready to employ."

Jake, who had been listening in to the conversation, was beaming with joy. Haze gave him an assuring smile on the good news; Dagger gave a nod of approval as well.

"Perfect timing professor, I'll send Jake and his team up to your lab right now."

"I'll be waiting," Professor Alex's disembodied voice said back.

Dakota put his Receiver away and faced Jake, "You heard the professor, you're dismissed."

"Thank you Admin Dakota," Jake nodded his head.

---

Professor Alex's lab was a complete mess; papers strewn about the floor, many more littered his desk. There was another desk in the corner where bunches of electronics were in different stages of disassembly. Standing at the desk was the professor himself, a gutted Receiver in one hand and a soldering gun in the other.

"Ah, there you are," Professor Alex exclaimed and put down his work in progress, "How was your mission then? Did you find it inconvenient to have to work as a pokemon? On that note, can you tell any details of any after effects that you may have experienced from the mutation?"

"That's the professor for ya," Haze said, "Head's on straight, but his train of thought is off schedule."

Jake merely sighed at Haze's remark before addressing Professor Alex.

"The mission went well Professor. It was definitely a challenge having to work as a pokemon."

Professor Alex retracted at the statement, "I'm really sorry for having to put you through all that Jake."
"No, it's ok. It was…interesting. Anyways, as for any after effects; I somehow learned how to use a Flamethrower attack."

Professor Alex was unsurprisingly shocked, "Really?! I'll have to add that to my references. Can you show me? I'd love to officially document this; it'll be a new revolution to my research in-"

"Professor!"

"Oh sorry, got a little carried away there," Professor Alex sweat dropped.

Dagger spoke up first, "We received word that you've finished Jake's cure then, correct."

Jake repeated Dagger's words himself.

"Of course, it was a little easier to solve once I ran the equation backwards for the first experiment."

Professor Alex walked over to the other side of the room where a drape covered large rectangular objects. He unveiled the objects with a flourish and revealed it to be the repaired machines that he used to turn Jake into a pokemon. There was also another object set next to the others that looked like a glass chamber with a shower nozzle poking in from the top that was hooked up to the neuron spectro-analyzer.

"Good thing I saved the blueprints on my laptop. Would have taken me over a week to try and rebuild it all from scratch."

'A week?!' Dagger, Jake, and Haze all thought at once.

"Ok, now all that's left is this," Professor Alex said, pulling out a syringe and bottle of dark red liquid from his pocket.

Jake shuddered at the sight of the needle; memories of his last shot and the experiment were all he had to know not to trust doctors with needles again.

Professor Alex stabbed the needle in the bottle's top and drew about half of its contents into it, "This right here is basically a polar opposite to the contrast that I used during the last experiment and with the right stimulus, should revert you back to normal."

"Professor," Jake asked as Professor Alex injected the icy cold liquid into his shoulder, "Are you sure this will work?"

"Yes, I'm 80 percent certain it will."

Jake's eyes nearly bugged out, "What happened to the other 20 percent?!"

"By my calculations, if it doesn't work. You could be a pokemon forever, or worse," Professor Alex smiled nervously, adding the last piece in a whisper.

"Or worse?!" Haze and Jake blurted.

Even Dagger showed a flash of genuine worry at the statement.

Jake weighed his options carefully with the new info. On one hand, this was probably his only chance at returning to normal; though if this failed, he'd probably get used to being a pokemon eventually, but the other part, the 'or worse' meant something along the lines of certain death.

Jake thought another minute, biting his lip in concentration, "…Ok, I'll take that chance."

Haze and Dagger took turns to argue with their partner on grounds that it was too dangerous, but were easily shot down by Jake's reassurance that this was possibly the only way. Much to their continued protest, they did not stop him as Professor Alex unlocked the glass chamber and allowed Jake to climb in. The glass door shut behind him and a deep twist of doubt and second thoughts hit Jake like a freight train. Professor Alex relocked the glass chamber and hustled to fiddle with the other instruments. Jake watched as the Professor flipped a multitude of switches and tuned dials that brought the hunks of electronics to a humming life. He looked back at his two partners that stood impatiently just outside the glass chamber, seeming to struggle against their instincts to just bust the chamber open to keep Jake safe. Jake took a deep breath and gave his best smile he possibly could to them; he of course, was just as worried that this may not work and leave him with the 'or worse' ordeal in the end.

"Jake," Professor Alex said in a muffled tone through the glass, "That nozzle overhead is going to start spraying a special solution that is charged with positive ions. So don't freak out, and I want you to take long even breaths to breathe in as much as possible. An even application is essential for this to work."

Just as Professor Alex said, the nozzle above Jake began to spew a thick cloud of light blue gas that filled the chamber in seconds. The solution felt like a warm mist that seeped past his fur, sinking down to and under his skin. Jake drew in his first deep breath of the stuff and began to choke and gag on it. It was like trying to breath underwater as the stuff seemed to liquidize in his lungs and took on a pungent citrus scent. As much as he hated it, he told himself that he had to do as the Professor said or else this would never work. He took another breath, pushing past his first reaction to hold his breath against the choking feeling. His lungs began to burn with an intense heat, and then it was his heart that started to burn and began to beat three times as fast. The chemical spray made impossible to see beyond the glass chamber, but that didn't matter as his vision began to fade to a cold blackness. The rest of Jake's body soon began to burn with the same sensation as his lungs and heart and found himself become disoriented and ready to pass out. He had little control over his breathing now and choked and wheezed against the heavy fog. He could just barely make out the panicked cries of his partners outside the glass chamber as they heard his desperate gasps for air, but none of it was coherent as Jake mind retracted against the discomfort and pain.

Just as he thought that he was on the brink of death, much of the pain receded back from where it came. He soon found it much easier to breathe as well and swallowed lungfuls of clearer air. His eyes, which had been tightly shut, blinked rapidly to regain their lost vision. He finally feel his heart slow down to a more even pace which quieted the pulsing headache he was having throughout the ordeal. His ears popped and allowed for the noise he was hearing to become less like scrambled garble in a turbine engine to audible voices that were arguing.

"OPEN THE DOOR, NOW!"

"No, I know you must be saying that you want me to open the door, but just one more minute. I already set it to a cycle of five minutes for the full application to work."

"Didn't you hear him in there you crack job?! And now we can't hear him at all!"

'Five minutes?!' Jake thought, 'that felt more like a lifetime to me.'

Jake tried to stand up, but his legs just would respond and left him crouched on the floor. There a soft ring from outside the glass chamber and the low hiss from overhead disappeared meaning the nozzle had shut off. The voices outside remained quiet after they too heard the ring, and could only mean that they were preparing for whatever happened next.

With a great effort, Jake managed to bring himself up to a standing position and found through the light blue fog that the floor was a bit farther away from him now. The lock on the glass chamber clicked open and the fog whipped out like it was waiting to be released to the world outside. Haze, Professor Alex, and Dagger all gasped as Jake stepped out from the chamber on 'two' wobbly legs. He looked down to his body and saw not coat of orange and black fur, but his PEF uniform covering his 'human' body. He rung his hands together and found they too were furless and become human in every way; opposable thumbs included. He looked up to see the wide eyed faces of Professor Alex and Haze and the casual stare from Dagger that truly meant the same thing. He was human again.

"You did it Professor Alex, thank you," Jake exclaimed.

Professor Alex was too stunned by the overwhelming success of the procedure to reply and merely offered to shake Jake's hand in acknowledgment.

"Oh thank Arceus you're alright Jake," Haze hugged Jake tightly.

Jake pushed back to keep himself from being crushed under Haze's incredible grip, "Augh, yeah, but I think I'd rather not go through two near death experiences in one day thank you."

They all laughed, including Dagger who gave a light chuckle.

Description
"Get OFF!"

*Fwoosh*

Jake stared, wide eyed for a moment as a bristling column of fire erupted from his maw and struck the incoming Sableye. He could feel the incredible heat rolling off his tongue into the Sableyes' faces, but it didn't feel like his mouth was getting burned itself. Jake snapped his jaws shut and the searing flames were instantly cut off. For a split second everyone was too stunned to really move; the Croagunk on Jake's back loosened their grip by a fraction as they contemplated what had just happened and how to respond. That split second was all Jake needed. With all his might, he pushed his entire weight upward and jerked around to buck the poison type pokemon off him. They crashed to the ground in a circle around Jake, slightly dizzy but not out.

The grunts that had just seen the Arcanine before them just take out their pokemon with just one attack were backing away, hoping to slip away without a sound.

"What are you standing around for?!" The presumed commanding grunt shouted at the collared pokemon and other grunts, "Take him out!"

The other grunts and pokemon that were momentarily stunned by the sudden surprise attack quickly regained their senses and resumed the battle. Each of the remaining 4 grunts was issuing commands to one Croagunk and one Sableye, or what was left of their forces. They surrounded Jake, but now the PEF member had a new advantage.

"Croagunk, use Poison Jab!" the first grunt ordered.

A Croagunk on Jake's right shot forward from the ring to attack, its claws dripping with venom. Jake tensed; as soon as the Croagunk went for the swipe Jake dodged to the left.

'Lucky this is getting easier,' Jake thought.

The Croagunk turned, preparing to charge again. Jake planted his paws firmly to the ground and took aim. He inhaled a quick breath, remembering the feeling of how he used the Flamethrower attack; white hot anger but with a sense of passion, and breathed out again forcefully. He felt a small tickle at the back of his throat and a column of red hot flames shot out just like before, knocking the Croagunk away with surprising force.

"Use Shadow Claw, Sableye," Two grunts commanded at once.

There was no time for rest or celebration in battle as the two Sableye on either side of Jake jumped into the fray. Their claws glowed with a dark, sinister energy that were Shadow Claw attacks. The Sableye on the left missed entirely, but the one on the right was luckier and caught Jake's flank. The short gash drew a few spurts of blood. Jake gasped in pain, but his training did not let that keep him down and he back up ready to retaliate. The Sableye had no time to defend or dodge and took a powerful claw swipe to the face. Turning around, Jake caught the other Sableye in a Flamethrower, knocking it into and out with the other. The Team Sigma grunts were starting to get worried, or more over starting to really show their fear as they lost their upper hand.

"What are you idiots waiting for?!" the lead grunt yelled again, "We have to attack him all at once!"

It was a good plan, the others thought; their sheer numbers would easily overpower just one Arcanine. With their orders, the rest of the collared pokemon circled like Luxray hunting easy prey.

"5 against 1, now this doesn't seem fair," Jake said sarcastically, "You'd probably need at least 10 more to make this an even fight."

The collared pokemon seemed unfazed by the snide remark, but as for the grunts, most of them were fuming and ordered their pokemon to attack. Jake used his hind legs to buck a Sableye behind him first; a direct hit to the face. A Croagunk and Sableye tried to double team from either side only to crash into each other after Jake jumped out of the way. Jake blasted them both with a Flamethrower attack while they were still stunned; two down. The first Sableye from before got up and was back for revenge. Jake didn't see the last attack coming and caught another Shadow Claw attack along his side. Jake hissed from the pain, but he wasn't about to let a little scratch put him down. Quick on the reversal, the Sableye dropped instantly as Jake swiped it with his claws. All that was left was a lone Croagunk for Team Sigma's side. All expect the lead grunt had fled in terror after their defeat.

Whether it was out of courage or stubbornness, the last grunt stood his ground, his final collared pokemon idling by his side. Though Jake could see the grunt shaking a bit in rage as well as fear; he couldn't help but snicker to himself.

"Are we about done yet, or do you want me to keep kicking your ass?" Jake taunted, his tail wagging playfully.

The grunt stomped his feet as if he were a child throwing a tantrum, "Grr, you're not going to get away with that! Croagunk make him pay for that!"

The mindless Croagunk charged forth in a wild frenzy. Jake and the Croagunk tumbled to the ground as they struggled to gain the upper hand. Jake took a Brick Break to the side, that was definitely gonna sting in the morning. He shook the pain away and delivered a quick sideswipe with a paw. The Croagunk got back up, though shifted much of its weight to its left leg as the other had taken the brunt of the last hit. Jake saw this and readied to attack. He jumped forward toward the Croagunk, claws extended to pounce on top of the poison-type.

"Croagunk, jump out of the way," The grunt commanded.

Just as Jake thought, the Croagunk could only push off to the left side from its left leg though still made it a good five feet in the air. Jake landed on the spot where the Croagunk first stood, and swiftly turned to the aerial amphibian.

"One order of extra crispy frog legs, coming up," Jake said and shot a Flamethrower.

The Croagunk had only just touched the ground with its toes before the simmering heat was in front of its face. Fully engulfed in the raging fire by the time it landed on the ground, giving a final cry of pain before falling over in a heap. Jake breathed heavily as his fight ended, him being victorious.

"And as for you," Jake said, turning toward the Team Sigma grunt.

Unfortunately, the grunt was already gone. A small cloud of dust was kicked up in the distance; the sounds of faint cursing followed it.

Jake rolled his eyes, "Should have known."

*Boom*

It wasn't over yet, Jake thought. The jeeps with the grunts that were trying to escape with the odd tablets were still there. One of the jeeps was set ablaze though, which must have been the source of the explosion.

Haze and Dagger fought side by side against the Team Sigma grunts and their collared pokemon managing to knock out more than half of the pokemon already. The two PEF pokemon had taken a couple hits themselves, but were otherwise free of any major injuries. During the battle, a few 'brave' grunts tried to make a break for one of the jeeps with a tablet, only to be cut off by the jeep igniting into a fireball thanks to Haze.

"Hey Dagger, how many have you taken out so far," Haze asked as she rolled a Croagunk over her shoulder.

Dagger blasted a Shellos with a Psycho Cut before answering, "This isn't a contest, but if you have to know, 12."

"No way, you're cheating with your score. I've only got 10," Haze snapped and kicked another Elekid in the face, "make that 11."

Dagger blinked, his version of a sarcastic scoff, "maybe you're not as good as you think."

Haze reeled as the remark and was about to retort, when Dagger launched himself over her to smack an Electrike out of the air behind her.

"By the way, 13," Dagger said tonelessly, but Haze saw the almost nonexistent smirk on his face.

"Haze on your left," Jake called as he ran.

Haze saw it a mile away and ducked under the Water gun attack from a Shellos. Jake had made to Dagger's side and blasted a troublesome Sableye away with a Flamethrower before it got close.

"You've learned to use Flamethrower," Dagger said with a hint a surprise.

Jake felt a little pride from the praise, "Sure did, but it's the only attack I can use as far as I can tell."

"That's cool and all, so why not use it to help out your other partner then!" Haze called as she tried to fight off two Electrikes at once.

With all but a few Electrikes and Shellos left, the odds shifted toward Haze and Dagger's previously even match up. Jake and Haze took a powerful Water gun attack leaving both soaked and Jake with little energy left.

"Look at the bright side," Haze helped Jake up, "Now you don't need a bath when we get back."

Jake shook himself dry as best he could, "Shut up."

*Vroom*

While the team was distracted with fighting the collared pokemon, the remaining grunts had managed to pile into the two undamaged jeeps and were preparing to escape. The first tore off, tires squealing as it took off and escaped. The second unfortunately got its back tires stuck in a nasty patch of loose gravel and dirt, causing it to spin its tires in place.

"Quick, don't let them get away!" Haze shouted, dropping an unconscious Croagunk she was beating.

"Shit," the grunt in the back seat said, looking out the rear view to see the Blaziken sprinting toward them, "Step on it man!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" the grunt behind the wheel kicked the accelerator repeatedly.

The grunts argued, but just before Haze could lay a hand on the stuck jeep, the wheelman gave one more kick to the gas pedal. The back wheels spun furiously, sending a wave of dirt and gravel at Haze's face. She screamed, blinded and continued to take the pelting of shooting gravel until the jeep became unstuck. The grunts in the jeep cheered for the wheelman as they drove off toward their escape route.

"You're not getting away that easily. Dagger, get ready!" Jake called out.

He shot a mighty Flamethrower in the jeep's direction; the vehicle swerved to avoid the fireball, but the real intention of the attack was made clear as the chokepoint like escape route was engulfed in fire. Dagger watched the jeep burnout as it pulled a 180 to avoid the wall of flames and head back toward him.

"Dude watch out for that Gallade!" the grunt riding shotgun pointed.

"I got it man. Time for a splatter kill," the driver grunt said and pushed his foot harder into the gas pedal.

The engine revved, the jeep picked up speed and bounced over the rocky terrain. Dagger didn't move, standing perfectly still like a matador facing a charging Tauros. Like a scene from a movie; the jeep was mere feet away. Dagger crouched and rolled to the side, extending his forearm blade out. The jeep kept going with its momentum and collided with the outstretched blade. The right side of the jeep's exterior squealed in pain as the blade tore into the metal, catching the first tire and then the second. The tires blew with a loud pop and hiss; the entire jeep skidded out of control and flipped over its side in a barrel roll. The grunts screamed inside the tumbling jeep, praying to Arceus they had remembered their seatbelts. The jeep rolled once, twice, three times then tipping precariously at the edge of the cliffside. The wheels came down on the right side settling with a thud. The jeep was totaled, no longer running as one by one the disoriented grunts crawled out from the vehicle.

"I told you to watch out for that Gallade," The first grunt coughed.

"Shut up man," the driver grunt snapped back, "Is the tablet safe? Kaiser will kill us if that even so much gets a scratch."

He got no reply and shook his head to clear the ringing in his ears. The third grunt that had been riding in the backseat with the tablet seemed like he was paralyzed as he sat leaning against the crumbled jeep. He was clutching the tablet with a face of pure terror, not paying attention to the other two grunts at all. The first two grunts didn't understand their buddy's demeanor until they looked up. Standing above them was one pissed off Blaziken that was cracking her knuckles.

"Payback time Sigma runts," Haze narrowed her eyes.

The other two grunts were now just as terrified as their buddy. They of course had no idea what the Blaziken said but her fiery expressions were all they need to see to have them shaking in fear with pleas of mercy.

"Haze, we need to retrieve the tablet first, so don't damage it," Jake said.

The grunt holding the tablet looked down at the precious object in his hands, understanding how important it was and came up with a quick plan.

"Y-you want the tablet huh? Then go get it!" The grunt said and threw the slab of stone as hard as he could over the Blaziken's head.

Haze tried to snatch it, but only brushed the tips of her talons against the smooth stone slab. All eyes were on the tablet as it arced through the air. There was no doubt that it was headed straight for the Cliffside and would be lost forever if it went over the edge

Jake sprinted after the soaring tablet; his only thought was to prevent it from going over the edge. He leapt up, jaws open wide and snapping shut on the stone slab. He couldn't believe he just caught it but he did, though catching it with his mouth like a dog left the unpleasant taste of dirt on his tongue. There was another, bigger problem now though; he had overestimated his jump and was overlooking the ocean right below him now. He flailed in midair hoping it would bring him back to the safety of the rocky cliffs behind him. Like that would work; and now he was falling, the sea salt air whipping his fur about. Probably the second scariest free fall of his life in one day was suddenly cut short by a lazy purple veil of psychic energy now holding him in place. Jake breathed a sigh of relief as his partner Dagger raised him back up onto solid ground. Both Haze and Dagger stood waiting at the edge of the cliff Jake had jumped off and smiled once he had returned.

"That was very reckless," Dagger lectured, "I could have gotten the tablet without your stunt."

Jake snorted, "Eh, ah leash I ga he halet."

"Nobody likes to hear someone talk with their mouth full Fido," Haze sneered.

Jake glared at her and laid the tablet down, spitting out the taste of dirt as well.

"I swear, you're having too much fun with these jokes," Jake said, "What happened to those Team Sigma grunts?"

Haze snorted and crossed her arms, "Cowards, they ran off while I was distracted."

"Dang, we could have interrogated them to find out what so special about these tablets they're collecting."

The face of the cold stone slab was riddled with lines of characters Jake had never seen before. A few pictures were etched into the rock, but they too were indecipherable.

"*sigh* Maybe we can pull something off the computers they bought."

"Can't," Dagger said plainly, pointing over to the ruins of the equipment and machines the Team Sigma grunts had brought.

"Gee Haze, and you used to have trouble aiming for the broadside of a barn," Jake smirked.

Haze blushed in anger, "Shut up, not my fault everything got busted."

"Sure," Dagger brushed past her, "seeing how everything in on fire."

"Nobody asked you!" Haze stomped her foot.

Jake shook his head with a smirk, "Ok, can one of you pick up my receiver and call HQ to send us a pick up? We need to get this tablet back for analysis."

---

Jake and his team made a quick stop to the infirmary to get patched up from their scrapes and bruises before heading up to the Intel room for their debriefing. The tablet they had recovered was transferred to the research wing where it would hopefully be deciphered. Back in the Intel room, Jake gave the details to Admin Dakota on their mission.

"…And that's all we have to report," Jake concluded.

Dakota scratched the back of his head, "It's a shame we only recovered one of the tablets."

Jake bowed his head in disappointment, "Sorry we couldn't retrieve anything more useful sir."

"Nonsense," Dakota piped up, "The tablet is more than we could have asked for. We have our best scientists overlooking the analysis as we speak, so we'll find out what Team Sigma is up to soon enough."

*beep, beep, beep. Beep, beep, beep*

Dakota's Receiver chimed in and he picked it up from his pocket.

"Hello, hello? Can you hear me?" A familiar voice came from the device.

"Loud and clear Professor Alex, but why is the video feed all fuzzy?"

"Oh right," Professor Alex said through the static covering the screen, "Sorry, I've been trying to boost the Receiver's transmission frequency to enable better communications. So far my work has caused an opposite effect. You see a Heracross has a unique shell that it sheds once a year that has a special texture that blocks out radio interference. They have this so that they aren't attracted to the frequencies given off by electronics such as satellite tv dishes and other devices and can find their each other using the 'hum' they give off by vibrating their wings a certain way. I'm trying to adapt the shell to the wire casing in the Receiver to block out interference in the same way, but it seems to work vice versa at the moment cutting the video feed. So-"

"Now I know this isn't the real reason that you're calling, right professor?" Dakota cut off Professor Alex's ramble.

"Ack, right. I have some excellent news. That reversal method to Jake's condition is finished and ready to employ."

Jake, who had been listening in to the conversation, was beaming with joy. Haze gave him an assuring smile on the good news; Dagger gave a nod of approval as well.

"Perfect timing professor, I'll send Jake and his team up to your lab right now."

"I'll be waiting," Professor Alex's disembodied voice said back.

Dakota put his Receiver away and faced Jake, "You heard the professor, you're dismissed."

"Thank you Admin Dakota," Jake nodded his head.

---

Professor Alex's lab was a complete mess; papers strewn about the floor, many more littered his desk. There was another desk in the corner where bunches of electronics were in different stages of disassembly. Standing at the desk was the professor himself, a gutted Receiver in one hand and a soldering gun in the other.

"Ah, there you are," Professor Alex exclaimed and put down his work in progress, "How was your mission then? Did you find it inconvenient to have to work as a pokemon? On that note, can you tell any details of any after effects that you may have experienced from the mutation?"

"That's the professor for ya," Haze said, "Head's on straight, but his train of thought is off schedule."

Jake merely sighed at Haze's remark before addressing Professor Alex.

"The mission went well Professor. It was definitely a challenge having to work as a pokemon."

Professor Alex retracted at the statement, "I'm really sorry for having to put you through all that Jake."
"No, it's ok. It was…interesting. Anyways, as for any after effects; I somehow learned how to use a Flamethrower attack."

Professor Alex was unsurprisingly shocked, "Really?! I'll have to add that to my references. Can you show me? I'd love to officially document this; it'll be a new revolution to my research in-"

"Professor!"

"Oh sorry, got a little carried away there," Professor Alex sweat dropped.

Dagger spoke up first, "We received word that you've finished Jake's cure then, correct."

Jake repeated Dagger's words himself.

"Of course, it was a little easier to solve once I ran the equation backwards for the first experiment."

Professor Alex walked over to the other side of the room where a drape covered large rectangular objects. He unveiled the objects with a flourish and revealed it to be the repaired machines that he used to turn Jake into a pokemon. There was also another object set next to the others that looked like a glass chamber with a shower nozzle poking in from the top that was hooked up to the neuron spectro-analyzer.

"Good thing I saved the blueprints on my laptop. Would have taken me over a week to try and rebuild it all from scratch."

'A week?!' Dagger, Jake, and Haze all thought at once.

"Ok, now all that's left is this," Professor Alex said, pulling out a syringe and bottle of dark red liquid from his pocket.

Jake shuddered at the sight of the needle; memories of his last shot and the experiment were all he had to know not to trust doctors with needles again.

Professor Alex stabbed the needle in the bottle's top and drew about half of its contents into it, "This right here is basically a polar opposite to the contrast that I used during the last experiment and with the right stimulus, should revert you back to normal."

"Professor," Jake asked as Professor Alex injected the icy cold liquid into his shoulder, "Are you sure this will work?"

"Yes, I'm 80 percent certain it will."

Jake's eyes nearly bugged out, "What happened to the other 20 percent?!"

"By my calculations, if it doesn't work. You could be a pokemon forever, or worse," Professor Alex smiled nervously, adding the last piece in a whisper.

"Or worse?!" Haze and Jake blurted.

Even Dagger showed a flash of genuine worry at the statement.

Jake weighed his options carefully with the new info. On one hand, this was probably his only chance at returning to normal; though if this failed, he'd probably get used to being a pokemon eventually, but the other part, the 'or worse' meant something along the lines of certain death.

Jake thought another minute, biting his lip in concentration, "…Ok, I'll take that chance."

Haze and Dagger took turns to argue with their partner on grounds that it was too dangerous, but were easily shot down by Jake's reassurance that this was possibly the only way. Much to their continued protest, they did not stop him as Professor Alex unlocked the glass chamber and allowed Jake to climb in. The glass door shut behind him and a deep twist of doubt and second thoughts hit Jake like a freight train. Professor Alex relocked the glass chamber and hustled to fiddle with the other instruments. Jake watched as the Professor flipped a multitude of switches and tuned dials that brought the hunks of electronics to a humming life. He looked back at his two partners that stood impatiently just outside the glass chamber, seeming to struggle against their instincts to just bust the chamber open to keep Jake safe. Jake took a deep breath and gave his best smile he possibly could to them; he of course, was just as worried that this may not work and leave him with the 'or worse' ordeal in the end.

"Jake," Professor Alex said in a muffled tone through the glass, "That nozzle overhead is going to start spraying a special solution that is charged with positive ions. So don't freak out, and I want you to take long even breaths to breathe in as much as possible. An even application is essential for this to work."

Just as Professor Alex said, the nozzle above Jake began to spew a thick cloud of light blue gas that filled the chamber in seconds. The solution felt like a warm mist that seeped past his fur, sinking down to and under his skin. Jake drew in his first deep breath of the stuff and began to choke and gag on it. It was like trying to breath underwater as the stuff seemed to liquidize in his lungs and took on a pungent citrus scent. As much as he hated it, he told himself that he had to do as the Professor said or else this would never work. He took another breath, pushing past his first reaction to hold his breath against the choking feeling. His lungs began to burn with an intense heat, and then it was his heart that started to burn and began to beat three times as fast. The chemical spray made impossible to see beyond the glass chamber, but that didn't matter as his vision began to fade to a cold blackness. The rest of Jake's body soon began to burn with the same sensation as his lungs and heart and found himself become disoriented and ready to pass out. He had little control over his breathing now and choked and wheezed against the heavy fog. He could just barely make out the panicked cries of his partners outside the glass chamber as they heard his desperate gasps for air, but none of it was coherent as Jake mind retracted against the discomfort and pain.

Just as he thought that he was on the brink of death, much of the pain receded back from where it came. He soon found it much easier to breathe as well and swallowed lungfuls of clearer air. His eyes, which had been tightly shut, blinked rapidly to regain their lost vision. He finally feel his heart slow down to a more even pace which quieted the pulsing headache he was having throughout the ordeal. His ears popped and allowed for the noise he was hearing to become less like scrambled garble in a turbine engine to audible voices that were arguing.

"OPEN THE DOOR, NOW!"

"No, I know you must be saying that you want me to open the door, but just one more minute. I already set it to a cycle of five minutes for the full application to work."

"Didn't you hear him in there you crack job?! And now we can't hear him at all!"

'Five minutes?!' Jake thought, 'that felt more like a lifetime to me.'

Jake tried to stand up, but his legs just would respond and left him crouched on the floor. There a soft ring from outside the glass chamber and the low hiss from overhead disappeared meaning the nozzle had shut off. The voices outside remained quiet after they too heard the ring, and could only mean that they were preparing for whatever happened next.

With a great effort, Jake managed to bring himself up to a standing position and found through the light blue fog that the floor was a bit farther away from him now. The lock on the glass chamber clicked open and the fog whipped out like it was waiting to be released to the world outside. Haze, Professor Alex, and Dagger all gasped as Jake stepped out from the chamber on 'two' wobbly legs. He looked down to his body and saw not coat of orange and black fur, but his PEF uniform covering his 'human' body. He rung his hands together and found they too were furless and become human in every way; opposable thumbs included. He looked up to see the wide eyed faces of Professor Alex and Haze and the casual stare from Dagger that truly meant the same thing. He was human again.

"You did it Professor Alex, thank you," Jake exclaimed.

Professor Alex was too stunned by the overwhelming success of the procedure to reply and merely offered to shake Jake's hand in acknowledgment.

"Oh thank Arceus you're alright Jake," Haze hugged Jake tightly.

Jake pushed back to keep himself from being crushed under Haze's incredible grip, "Augh, yeah, but I think I'd rather not go through two near death experiences in one day thank you."

They all laughed, including Dagger who gave a light chuckle.