"Let it go Treecko. She wasn't—"
"How can I just let it go, Mankey? A human actually looked at me and didn't just scream bloody murder. They never do that." Treecko was instead amazed that the girl had sat quietly and watched him. "I mean, come on, are humans even capable of that? They usually go running away on their dumb, tall back legs."
Mankey shook his head while sighing. "Do not go mixing in with the humans. If fighting with the world out here doesn't get you killed," he waved to the forest, "talking to them will."
"You don't know that," Treecko responded nonchalantly. He then began to theorize, "Maybe she can help me get into the library and find what I need. After all, we have seen her go in and out of that building."
He turned away from the human building to face Mankey. He was looking at Treecko with a twisted face of rage and confusion. His eye twitched and his mouth was open in an expression of disbelief. "Are you kidding me right now!" he screamed. The branch above their heads shook as a Murkrow flew off at Mankey's shriek. "Do you even know what humans do when they catch small Pokémon like us?"
Treecko didn't even get a chance to think before Mankey continued shouting. "Seriously, humans are animals. They capture Miltanks in the most barbaric ways with traps and rope, then they make them fuck just so that they can have babies, then they eat the parents, and make the children do it all over again. I've watched their classes where they literally slice open Weedles and Caterpies for fun.
"Honestly, why did Dialga allow such horrific monsters to evolve? Too bad they can't evolve past this phase. Seriously, I bet they were so much better before Dialga went insane. They probably had another stage of evolution they could've reached like we were able to. Damn that insane son of a bitch, causing the whole world to go to sh—"
"Enough!" Treecko shouted, commanding his friend into silence. He shook his head, clearing away the negative emotions Mankey had just implanted. "I don't want to make friend with the human, I only need the information this girl obviously has access to. We've never seen anyone else her age walking in and out of their sacred building; only old farts that look too stuck up for their own good. I highly doubt they would be gullible enough to help us out. This girl, however, might be stupid enough to get me inside."
"Why does this mean so much to you anyway? It's just a stupid book filled with footprint runes. Can you even read footprint runes?" Mankey asked critically.
Sighing, Treecko turned to his friend. His friend knew the answer to that question, and Treecko was tired of having to prove himself. Instead of entertaining Mankey with an answer, Treecko instead posed a simple question, "Do you know what a Primeape is?"
"Excuse me?"
"I said, do you know what a Primeape is?" he repeated.
Mankey huffed, "Why the hell wouldn't I know what my evolution is? That was a dumb question." His chest was puffed out, overly proud of himself for being able to answer an intentionally easy question.
"Well," Treecko continued, "What if I told you that you could become a Primeape." A smile flickered across his face. He was proud of his plan, and he wanted Mankey to know it.
Instead of awe and wonder though, Mankey's response was only laughter; loud, guffawing laughter. "Oh my Dialga," he wheezed, "You are full of such Tauros shit, Treecko." He sounded like he was trying to say something else but was unable to because of his laughter. Instead, Mankey just fell over and continued giggling, gasping for air in between laughs.
Instead of waiting around for his friend to finish, Treecko just turned and walked away. He did not have to take these insults from his friend. He moved through the spiny bushes to an opening where a swarm of humans was exiting their building. They lingered, but not for long before continuing on up the hill towards more buildings. Occasionally, they would stop and have conversations with each other before continuing on their own paths away from the school. Scanning the crowd slowly, he did not see any sign of the girl.
Thumping footsteps sounded from behind him. He whipped around, his tail hardening up in preparation to attack. Mankey bundled out of the bramble, grabbed Treecko with a firm grip, and yanked him back into the cover of darkness. "What do you think you're doing, you fucking idiot?"
Treecko tried to struggle away from his friend, but just couldn't build up the strength to force his friend off of him. "I'm getting that damn book, and you can't stop me." He had completely lost his patience. Still in Mankey's grip, Treecko bit off some twigs, chewed them up, and mixed them in his mouth with some seeds and his spit. Taking a deep breath through his nose alerted Mankey of what he was about to do, but it was too late. The fighting type couldn't prepare for what happened next.
An explosion of seeds mixed with sharp twigs exploded from Treecko's mouth, nailing Mankey in the face at point-blank range with a bullet seed attack. Mankey was forced to let go of Treecko's tail and tend to his now wounded face. The short window where Mankey was distracted gave Treecko all the time he needed to escape. The grass-type jumped for a tree trunk the second he felt the pressure on his tail let up. Mankey was the better climber, but Treecko was faster.
He climbed to the first branch then sprang forward as far as he could. The branch snapped under his rough motions, catching the attention of the humans at the edge of the crowd. The dead limb fell and landed a direct hit on Mankey's head. The Pokémon slumped down immediately upon impact. Treecko knew the blow wouldn't keep him down long, so he had to keep moving with no time to waste. His friend was a fighter and had too much rage for his own good. Mankey would come after Treecko with a fury for what he had just done once he came around.
Running straight into the thick of it, Treecko felt his surge of adrenaline ebb away as a sense of dread settled in. The crowd was enormous from the inside, despite knowing what it actually looked like from an outsider's point of view. The human's talking all at once threw Treecko off as well, their chattering felt overwhelming to his sensitive ears. Their forms loomed over him, reminding him of his size and place in the world. Treecko felt frozen in place. That was, until he heard a roar coming from the woods. Shit, he's up already?!
Dashing madly through the crowd now, Treecko searched frantically for the girl. He dodged feet, and bags, and anything else that the humans threw at him. He had to force his limbs to move through the fear that controlled his being. They're trying to get me with anything they can get their hands on. What is wrong with these things? They were beginning to circle around him, much like a pack of angry Houndour would. He had no choice but to run towards their building, which he knew was a horrible idea. The crowd had intentionally left the path to school unblocked, and Treecko had no option but to take the bait.
They were beginning to shout ugly things at him. Phrases such as "Kill it!" and "Smash its head in!" were beginning to go around. Mankey was right, the things are horribly barbaric. I have no choice but to do what they're forcing me to. He ran straight for the doors, catching them off guard slightly. No one pursued at first until one screamed "Chase him," and they did with thundering footsteps.
Treecko was running ragged now; his breaths were becoming shakier and shakier, and his legs felt like they were burning. Usually, out in the woods, he would've been able to climb to safety, away from his chasers, allowing for a moment of rest. Here, the walls were shiny and smooth, displaying no amount of traction. The wood used to construct them covered in a weird wax to give them a slippery shine. Treecko had nowhere to climb. That was, until he saw her.
The girl was moving towards him further down the hallway, rubbing her cheek while casting wary glances at the people around her. Thank Dialga, Treecko thought to himself. This is my lucky break. He took a few strides between pairs of legs to throw off the crowd, purposely overshooting the girl's location. He pivoted, slipping slightly on the smooth ground, then took a giant, awkward leap up and onto the girl's bag. He barely grabbed on to it due to his poor jump; the slippery coverings that humans used had tripped him up again. The bag was shut by a zipper that he didn't have time to operate, so he instead wedged himself in between her back and her bag. He watched the crowd run by from his crevice; they still thought he was running down the hallway.
She shivered violently at the new creature attached to her shirt. The sensation must have been as weird for her as it was for Treecko. She reached behind her and swatted at the backpack, but Treecko was too wedged in to be hit by her attacks. He snickered, "Dumb two-leg, you can't hit me in this spot. Your bag is protecting me."
"Stop touching me!" she screamed. The crowd moving past looked at her strangely, but she didn't seem to notice. She was too preoccupied with Treecko. "Seriously, stop!" She was beginning to cry now. "Stop, stop, stop, stop!"
She whipped around, causing Treecko to lose his grip, but he regained it quickly by collecting her shirt and a bit of her hair in his palm. This caused the girl to freak out even more. Treecko could hear her hit someone with a weak strike; her small fist contacting with someone else's skin. The person didn't respond too kindly and shoved her back with a greater force. Her body hit the wall, which in turn slammed her bag into Treecko. He yelped out in pain. The blow jarred his senses, leaving him in a daze.
More people were beginning to jostle the girl—and Treecko—around between them. Each push and shove forced the girl's bag into Treecko's body. His vision was getting dark from all of the hits her bag forced into his head. I'm going to die, thought Treecko through the haze that settled in his brain. His fragile, leafy body could only take so much wear and tear before ripping. After an uncomfortable amount of time later, the girl finally escaped by shoving herself directly backward and into a dark room.
The swift motion left Treecko confused. He heard a clicking sound, then a clunk as light filled the room and the girl sighed. She sets her bag down on the ground then dropped to her knees. Treecko felt himself move forward slightly with her body's motion. Taking what might have been his only chance, he emerged from his hiding place. His head throbbed due to the collisions he had endured.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" he cried. "Why are all two legs so damn violent? Even the ones that are getting beat up are annoying. Seriously, what is wrong with you?" he had begun to shout at the girl now. "Honestly, I thought you were different, you seemed so nice compared to the others, always running away when they tried to beat you up. Honestly," he rolled his eyes and faced the wall now, "I should just try getting into the library myself."
The girl's sobbing grew louder as she pulled her head up from her arms. "I already get enough crap from humans, I don't need it from you as well." She plopped her head back down into her hands, letting more sobs overtake her frail figure.
"Yeah, well, you obviously deserve it," Treecko said. He hopped up to the ledge by the door, attempting to figure out the lock in order to escape. It took his mind a moment to register what the girl had just said. Specifically, what she said in response to his words. "Woah, woah, woah, wait," Treecko spun around slowly, waving his arms back and forth across his body, "You just understood me?"
"Yeah," she sniffed quietly. She looked up now, her eyes and nose were crusted with liquids that were threatening to pour out, "Why do you ask?"
Treecko now looked at her with a slack jaw. She really doesn't get it. He started speaking, cut himself off, then began again in a way he deemed correct. "Humans and Pokémon are not supposed to be able to communicate. We can understand what you all are saying, but you're not supposed to understand us. I was honestly hoping just now that you were faking understanding me because you hit your head, but now I realize that you're just an honest to Dialga freak."
"Oh, right, I read that in a book one time," she whimpered, looking off to the side. "I should've known that. I'm so stupid!" Her bottom lip was still quivering. What a wimp, Treecko thought with disgust.
He was about to tell the girl off but stopped himself short of actually doing so. His brain kept his mouth in check by reminding him that he needed her; more specifically, he needed her access. I have to transition the conversation to the library. "Wait," he began," A book you said? Where did you see this book?" He was lucky she had just mentioned that.
"In the town library," she responded shortly. Her tone and face refused to give more away.
"Really? That's so cool," Treecko's voice feigned surprise. Come on, make it believable. "Can I see this book? I'm interested in finding out why you are different. Maybe the secret lies in these books that you read."
The girl glared at him, waiting a few seconds before answering. "I don't know who you are, and plus, you just made fun of me. Give me one good reason why I should show you anything." Her voice was firm, but her eyes betrayed her confidence.
"Because, you are obviously in need of a friend right now. Well, guess what, so am I. My friend just said, 'screw you,' and left me." Treecko fudged the details of his and Mankey's parting, it wasn't like she would ever know. "He and I were investigating time stopping, and why we can't evolve at the Springs anymore." He chose his next words carefully, "You're interested in knowing about the Before as well, aren't you?"
She looked up quickly, her tears were almost completely dried when she heard about the pair's investigation. Realizing her mistake, she looked away again, coyly replying, "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not."
Treecko had no choice now, he rubbed his neck as he tried to word his next move. He had one last card to play, "I've seen you entering and leaving that place before. I know you can get in there, and I know you shouldn't be. I've seen the signs, I know it's forbidden." Her eyes glazed over, and her cheeks paled; she was trapped now. "If you help me get in, I won't alert your leaders next time I spot you going in there."
She paused, sniffing slightly. Her nose wrinkled then released again as she looked around. Her eyes went up to the ceiling and her head followed. Her brown hair cascaded down her back; long and straight with tangles from getting shoved around. Her eyes teared up, she had to blink them away to retain her calm appearance; Treecko knew it was just a ruse. There is no way she can back out of this, Treecko thought.
He snickered, and jumped down in front of the girl again, "Well," he brought himself closer to her face, "I guess I'll have to spoil your fun next time. Thanks for nothing." He started to turn away, but the girl jabbed her hand out at Treecko.
Scowling directly at him now, she said, "Fine, you have a deal." She left her hand floating in the air, as if waiting for Treecko to do something. He tentatively reached a paw out, then pulled away. He slowly reached forwards again and pulled back once more. Impatiently, she took the initiative and grabbed Treecko's paw with her left hand and placed it in her right one. He flinched, unsure of what she was doing, but let her hand envelop his. She shook them up and down twice, then let go. "It's called a handshake, idiot," she explained, "It's how humans show agreement."
"I see," Treecko mumbled while nodding. "Well, I hope that this leads to a beneficial partnership." He spun to leave, but then added, "I'm Treecko, by the way."
"Sophia," she responded. "Climb back in my bag and I'll take you to the library."
Doing as commanded, Treecko clambered up Sophia's leg and onto her bag as she swung it back into position. He unzipped the pouch and slid down inside, resting comfortably on top of her books. They smelled of mold and age, and their covers seemed to be falling apart under Treecko's weight. "Are these stolen from the library?" he inquired.
"Not stolen, per se," she trailed off. "How about borrowed? Because, I do plan to return them. I was actually going to head to the library after school before we had this little encounter," she said the word "encounter" with poison in her voice. Like an Ekans, hissing at an unwelcome stranger.
"Great, then this works for the both of us. Let's get on with it," Treecko said, "Or else, you know what happens if I don't get my way."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it you little shit," she hissed again. "Let's just get on with it already. I'll let you out once we get there. Until then, stay quiet and stay out of sight."
Treecko slumped back with his hands behind his head. "You got it chief," he said with a half-smile on his face. This whole ordeal had been far too easy.