Reap What You Sow

Cocoon could see her breath as she and a small squadron of other Xydian Anons climbed the mountain. They had been briefed on their mission to retrieve a data disk that the Yovernians had stolen from who knows where. Probably some high tech lab, but she did not know that. She was just a soldier, after all.

The problem with climbing the mountain, though, was how easily she could get winded. She was already wheezing halfway up the mountain and she did not think she would be able to breathe the higher they climbed. But somehow, she was making it. Perhaps because of her advanced body that did not truly belong to her, who knew? Claire made some snarky comment or other in her head, but she opted to not pay attention to it and simply focused on the climb. It was already draining as it was, it would be better to not make it even more draining with useless arguing.

Eventually they reached the entrance of some sort of cave and the group opted to take a break from the climb, something she was grateful for. With a sigh, she collapsed into a sitting position and watched the other members of her party go about and enjoying the break. …Well, not enjoying per se. Everyone knew that the mission to getting back the disc was important and failing the mission would just bring disaster. There was a tense silence in the air that was broken by the occasional footsteps. “We can’t just stand around here, we have to get that disc,” Claire grumbled impatiently within her mind. Cocoon closed her eyes.

Just a little break, that’s all…

“Still!”

We can’t be too exhausted when we come across the enemy. Wouldn’t it be better to save your strength for the battle to come? Silence. Claire?

“Shut up, Cocoon.” Her eyes opened and peered through her goggles as the Anons broke out their rations and started eating. She was not very hungry at the moment, too tense to eat, despite the fact that eating would give her strength. Either that, or it was because the rations were MREs. She heard a snort within her mind at the thought, though she did not pay much mind to it.

Once everyone felt sufficiently rested, they got up and headed inside the cave. Her stomach was in knots as they entered, feeling very nervous all of a sudden. She did not know why, but she was feeling it. Claire, as always, made a snarky comment about that, but again she did not listen and tried to squish the feeling down. She was on a mission and she was going to carry it out no matter what.

The cave, it turned out, was actually a large cavern and she marveled at the fact that a cavern could exist in the mountains. But there was no time for sightseeing, they had a mission to do. Their footsteps echoed throughout the cavern as they marched onward, which would have alerted the enemy soldiers that there were people there. But so far, they found nothing and it was becoming a little eerie that no one was showing up. “You think they might be planning an ambush?” Claire said. Her Anon could practically feel the frown on her face.

I don’t know, but it’s giving me chills.

“Yeah, it’s giving me the creeps too.” Pause.

…This is the first time you’ve actually agreed with me on my feelings.

“Shut up, Cocoon. Still, keep an eye out in case there’s the enemy shows themselves. We find the enemy, we find the disc and then we can get the hell out of here.”

I already know that…

“You’re lagging behind.” Cocoon snapped out of her conversation with Claire to see that she had indeed been left behind. “Great. Now what?”

We find our group. If we find the enemy first, then more power to us.

“They’ll just capture you, you know. You’re severely outnumbered.”

I know. I’ll be fine, though. I have faith in my comrades and they’ll surely find me in due time. She ignored the scoff that her trainer gave and looked around. “Hm…” Her eyes lingered on some pillars of stone and she headed towards that direction. Once more she paid attention to her footfalls as they echoed across the cavern, along with the steady dripping of water. She could not pinpoint where the sound of water was coming from, however, not that it mattered to her. She was more concerned about her comrades, her mission to a lesser degree.

She gave a pause when she heard whispering. Who is that talking?

“You sure you’re not just hearing things?” Claire asked.

I’m going to investigate it.

“Wait, Cocoon-“ But it was already too late, she was already heading towards the noise. It was so quiet, her footsteps drowning out the noise. The whispering stopped after she walked a few paces.

“…Where…?” The whispering started again and she began to walk once more. Rounding a corner, she came face to face with a Steelix Anon. The squeak she made was overshadowed by the loud shout he made.

“What is it Bankok?” someone asked as she stood there, frozen to the spot.

“I-I think I found an enemy soldier,” he stammered as he stared back at her.

“What do you mean, think? It’s either an enemy soldier or a rescue party.”

“There’s uh…just one though.” Another Anon came into view.

“Definitely the enemy then. Hey, you! You’re under our custody until we get things straightened.” Claire was shouting at her in her mind as she was taken in by the two soldiers towards what looked to be a camp. A few other soldiers were there and they looked up to see what was going on. “Enemy soldier,” the second Anon explained tersely. Two of them simply nodded while the third one had an inquiry.

“What should we do with her, Corporal?”

“Keep her into custody until we get out of here. The rescue party will decide what to do from there.”

“Understood, sir.” She was shoved towards the other members and one of them stood up.

“You know, I’m really thankful you’re a Spinarak Anon,” the fifth person said as he used his String Shot to tie her up, “That way the enemy won’t escape so easily.”

“It will slow them down, that’s for sure,” the Anon with the inquiry said, nodding sagely.

“In the meantime, take turns watching her. I don’t want her to escape.”

“Yes sir!” they all piped up.

“So, who wants first watch?” All the while, Cocoon was staring at the enemy soldiers as if they grew second heads. They acted…much like a Xydian company would act. Completely normal, with not a trace of maliciousness in sight. It was…eye opening.

“Cocoon, don’t think about it. They’re the enemy and we’re trying to get the freaking disc, remember?”

I know that, but…

“Hey! What are you staring at?!” one of them shouted. She quickly looked down. “Yeah that’s what I thought.” Everyone except the corporal laughed.

“Don’t be a punching bag, even if you are captured and alone.”

No need to rub it in… As the enemy talked, she could not help but wonder just how wrong this everlasting war was. Sure she wished for peace, but that would only lead to her destruction so she should be focused on the war efforts, right? So why was she so hesitant all of a sudden? It was as if her heart was finally no longer into it and she wanted to do something that would alleviate it. The thought of killing the enemy- no, these people- sickened her a bit.

“Cocoon, focus!”

I can’t, not when they’re acting so normal.

“For the love of- they’re the enemy! They’re supposed to kill you and our comrades! You can’t think of them as normal, you have to think of them as something else.”

Like what, a Pokemon? A Psuedo? A hybrid? I can’t do that!

“Yes you can!”

“No, I can’t. You don’t understand, you-“

There was a bang and a shriek then suddenly everything went chaotic. Cocoon could not tell what was going on, everything was just a blur. Dimly, she could feel the string around her body slacken and being pulled to her feet while someone was shouting in her ear. She could only stand there, numb and distant to it all.

Then she felt a tug and a sharp pain in her side and everything caught up. “Come on! We have to find that disc!” one of her comrades said as they tugged her along. She nodded and followed after him, using her Electroweb left and right. There was a shout of someone saying, “Retreat!” and everyone began to scramble to move. “Someone’s got it! Come on, let’s go before more Yovernian soldiers come!” The group briskly ran away from the scene, just as more recruits from Yovern came into view. They were not pursued by them, however, and they all were able to make a quick getaway, Cocoon all the while thinking about the scene she saw when they took her captive.