Chapter Sixteen

The glowing, golden light beckoned, spanning in a perfect circle around a swirling black and ultraviolet mist. The talonflame's wings pushed on towards it, drawing ever closer. Something wasn't right. His mother had always told him curiosity killed the meowth, but he couldn't just leave it. It was his job to keep System safe, and if this was a threat then it needed to be inspected and promptly dealt with.

But something was very off. That glowing light... its eeriness unnerved him. Anomalies in System were few and far between and they rarely brought anything good.

That perfect circle of golden light... whatever it was, it was deliberate. It had been put there. A trap? He faltered, keeping both eyes on the centre of the swirling mist. It didn't look like a trap. There was nothing to suggest it as such. But it had definitely been made. Perfect circles were rarely an accident. Something was familiar about it, but he couldn't place it.

Perfect golden circles. Filled with a swirling darkness.

He shook his head sharply and beat his wings hard, pushing himself further towards the anomaly. He couldn't back out now. If it could harm his home, then it needed to be gotten rid of, and if you wanted to get rid of something then you needed to know what it was. You couldn't treat the disease with just a guess. You'd end up doing more harm than good.

Another wing beat and he paused, hovering a mere two feet away. It was impossible. He couldn't see a thing beyond that mist. He narrowed his eyes and turned them onto the golden ring of light. Was it moving towards him?

A shrill screech left his beak and he looked back down at the world below, minuscule like a toy town. It was falling away from him at an alarming pace. Whatever that black mist was, it was dragging him in!

He beat his wings to turn back towards the earth, aiming each beat towards the strange ring. But the earth still fell away from him. He craned his neck to the right and his golden eyes widened as he watched his tail feathers vanish beyond that swirling darkness. His beak opened again, letting out another scream. A terrified scream he'd not heard come from himself in many, many years.

...

System Sky's cities were long behind Wildcard Gamma, leaving them with nothing but a stretch of deep, dark blue. Fluffy grey clouds spread out below them, kicked up into small wisps by the ship's tail fin.

Macro kept one eye on the fuel gauge. None of them had thought to top up before embarking on such a ridiculously long journey and it was well below half. Matrix had reassured him their continuous loop over the Backbone Mountain hadn't been demanding and had therefore used up very little, leaving them with an ample supply to last them the trip, but that didn't take into consideration any potential combat they might find themselves in.

Not to mention their stalker was on their tail yet again.

The suspicious red dot flew along behind them, keeping their distance. He wondered if it was Surge following them, but that thought just made his head spin. If she'd been hired for another job, then she wouldn't be wasting her time following him around. Whatever the case, he wasn't sure the tailing ship was even friendly, and unlike Surge wouldn't leap to their aid. That could leave them stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Something twinkled on the horizon and he squinted to get a better look at it. Golden. Another government fleet? He pursed his lips in thought. Maybe Socket had got a head start on them. That sneaky gothitelle.

"Can we speed up?" he asked Anchor.

The granbull pushed the steering stick forwards and Wildcard Gamma surged through the sky. The golden specks grew larger, forming the smooth, streamline shells of Socket's prized fleet. But there was something else ahead of them. Something glittering gold miles beyond the ships.

"Do you see that?" Macro pointed a claw.

"Aye," said Anchor. "Wonder what it is? Another ship?"

"It's too big for that," said Macro. "I'm wondering if it's what they're aiming for."

"Only one way to find out," said Anchor.

Macro placed a claw between his teeth, gnawing the sharp tip away. Something about that ring made him feel anxious. If Socket really was tearing holes in time and space, they could very well be staring at one.

"We may be hard pressed to beat them, though," said Anchor. "We'll need our cloak up, and that might drain the rest of our fuel."

Macro shook himself back into reality and leant back in his seat.

"We always beat her," he said. "So take the risk."

"If you're sure," said Anchor. "Let it never be said I didn't warn you."

Macro sighed and ran a paw over his face. "If we're quick, then it might survive the flight."

The granbull shrugged and his paw flew over the dashboard to activate the cloak. Gradually they inched towards the golden fleet, and with each stretch the intricate details over their shimmering hulls became clearer.

"We just lost our stalker," said Matrix. "They've deliberately fallen behind."

"Probably scared of the fleet," said Macro.

DL leant on the dashboard beside Macro, her white fur brushing against his. He snatched his arm back into his side and glanced at her, but her attention drifted from the gauge to the government fleet.

"I'm running some calculations," she said, "and I think we might just make it."

"Well, that's a relief." Macro leant his elbow on his arm rest and placed his chin in his paw. "I hate losing to Socket."

"Have you ever lost to her?" she asked.

"No. But I know I'd hate it if I did."

"There was that one time in Raster City when she hid those explosives," said Matrix.

"Yeh, but I managed to track them back down into Seed City and kick all their tails," said Macro. "I got them explosives and made a fortune."

DL looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "You make it sound like you did it all yourself."

Anchor snorted but said nothing, and Macro gave a nonchalant shrug.

"Wildcard Gamma is pretty much one entity," he said. "We all have our own part to play."

"Just like a schooling wishiwashi." DL nodded. "I think I get it now."

Macro gave her a playful grin and turned his attention back onto the fleet. They were almost upon it now, and not one of the ships had noticed them. Anchor steered Wildcard Gamma to the left, bringing it around to the side of the fleet to zip straight past it. Macro kept one eye on the nearest ship. Small. They were so small compared to his ship, designed solely for quick excursions with the barest of essentials on board. They weren't designed to be lived in.

Whatever was ahead of them had formed into a large, golden ring, shimmering about a mile ahead of the fleet. It swirled with an eerie ultraviolet mist that didn't spread out from beyond the ring. It was as though the golden halo contained it, refusing to let such an abomination leak out into the deep blue sky.

A small movement came from the nearest gold ship and Macro's eyes snapped to it. The top had opened up and the nozzle of a canon laser turned on its axis to take aim at Wildcard Gamma. His eyes widened and he reached across to nudge Anchor a little too harshly.

"They know we're here!" he shrieked. "They're gonna fire! Unleash the school!"

Anchor didn't need telling twice. The smaller wishiwashi cannons snapped into place around his ship and a deep whir filled the hollow body as they rotated around them. Wildcard Gamma turned on the spot to aim the small fish-shaped cannons and a large bubble collided with the golden ship's neon laser. The explosion blew them both backwards, knocking the fleet off course.

Wildcard Gamma turned slowly and chugged towards the golden ring, leaving behind a trail of bubbles that exploded one by one no sooner did the nose of one of the ships come into contact with it.

Macro threw his arms in the air and cheered, eliciting a squeak of surprise from DL and an eye roll from Anchor.

He turned on his seat and waved a fist at the rear of the cockpit. "How do you like that?! You can never beat me!"

Anchor let out a small sigh. "I really worry one day your mouth is gonna land us all in trouble."

Macro, still laughing, sat back in his seat and kicked his feet up onto the dashboard. "You're a pirate, Anchor, you're supposed to welcome trouble! Live on the edge!"

"On that note," said Matrix, "you might wanna fasten your seat belts. There's a missile heading our way."

"Eh?"

Macro turned his head to look back at Matrix, but he let out a protest as DL's warm body climbed up beside him and dragged the seatbelt across them both. His lips curled into a sneer but it was soon wiped away as the missile struck the right side of his ship.

"Tell me you threw up the shields!" he said.

"Of course I did," said Anchor. "I also dropped the cloak since it's fairly pointless right now. But the shield doesn't exactly hold off missiles."

Macro groaned and slid down in his seat. That would have left a mark, and possibly a dent.

Wildcard Gamma sent out another stream of bubble bombs, blowing back the opposing fleet further, but the telltale whistle of another missile penetrated the ship.

"Take it out!" Macro screeched.

"I'm tryin'!" Anchor roared.

His large paws worked fast and the missile never struck home, but the impact from the counter attack sent the hulking wishiwashi surging sideways, throwing Macro across his chair and crushing his rib cage between the sparsely padded arm and DL.

The pachirisu mumbled an apology as she righted herself and quickly checked over the seatbelt.

Macro's eyes flew back to the window and widened as he let out a rather loud expletive.

The golden halo of light spread out on either side of them, swirling with a black mist that leaked ultraviolet light. It was oddly silent, but the effects could be felt throughout the ship. Anchor fought with the steering stick, shouting profanity at it as it refused to turn the ship around. Whatever the golden ring was, it was pulling them in.

"I think this is some kind of black hole," said Matrix, in a way Macro felt was wildly unhelpful.

All the mawile could think to reply with was, "You think?!"

Wildcard Gamma's engine roared as Anchor tugged the stick towards him and twisted it. The huge ship turned with it, but the swirling anomaly's drag was too strong. The larger end of the ship was pulled back towards it, filling the windscreen with a terrifying, swirling, unknowable demise.

Macro screwed his eyes shut and grit his teeth together. He couldn't watch. Whatever happened to them, he just didn't want to see it. His paws balled into fists over his knees, and he could feel DL trembling beside him.

This was it.

This was how he was going to die.

A loud scream reached his ears and his eyes flew back open. It hadn't come from any of his crew mates, but his first thought flew to Cookie. However, it had come from the wrong direction. The swirling anomaly spewed forth a flurry of red and black feathers, beating back and forth as their owner tried desperately to return to whatever the ring contained. But it was instead thrown towards the ship. For that one fleeting moment, the pull lessened and Anchor was able to steer Wildcard Gamma away.

The mist surrounding the flapping mass subsided and a talonflame flew forth from it, its beak hanging open in a state of silent terror. Its eyes flew straight to the ship and that scream filled the cockpit again before the large bird pokemon turned and flew back towards the golden ring.

But in a flash, the ring vanished. The swirling black and ultraviolet mist was replaced with the deep blue sky. The talonflame flew in place for a moment then shook its head and darted away from them and through the spot the ring had occupied.

Wildcard Gamma lurched to the side and the windscreen was filled with golden metallic bodies as the fleet took after the talonflame.

Macro gave himself a mental shake and slammed his paw onto the dashboard.

"After them!" he said. "Socket ain't getting her paws on that talonflame!"

Anchor pushed the ship forwards. His large paws were still trembling but the ship moved along smoothly, gradually picking up pace as it trailed after the fleeing fleet.

"What do you plan to do with the talonflame?" DL asked.

Macro shrugged. "No idea, but Socket clearly wants it. If it came from another world like I'm guessing, maybe I'll just hold it for ransom to pay off my bounty and regain some sense of security in this wretched world."

The pachirisu gave him a sideways glance and brushed her blue fur back from her eyes.

"You're kidding, right?" she asked.

Macro shrugged again and leant back in his seat. "It's a pokemon eat pokemon world out there, DL. When you live outside the law like we do, you do what you can to survive."

Her nose crinkled and she looked away from him. "I'm not sure I like that."

"Do you like what Socket had done to you?" he asked. "'Cos I'm gonna guess you were living inside the law before then."

She avoided his eyes, keeping her attention on the golden hulls of the government ships.

"This world is a state," Macro told her. "You need to pick a side - Socket, or the outlaws. If you don't like what we do, then I can always drop you back on System Ground and you can fend for yourself. Anchor, fire!"

A series of bubbles filled the windscreen and flew towards the fleet, blasting them aside and ripping a clean path through them. The talonflame was just ahead of them, fighting off a stream of sparking, metallic chains. They fastened around his wings, pinning them to his sides. He plummeted towards the ground until the chains went taught and hung there, swinging like a feathery pendulum.

"What do you suggest we do now?" Anchor asked.

Wildcard Gamma was still trudging along at a breakneck pace. It didn't leave Macro much time to think. He reached across the dashboard and slammed his paws over the display. The nose of the schooling wishiwashi began to slowly rise, cutting off the bottom of the windscreen and what he could see of the talonflame.

The fleet's turrets turned on them, the nozzles lighting up with a dangerous neon green light. The chains holding the talonflame broke like butter beneath the wishiwashi's jaws. Macro's eyes flew towards each of the threatening cannons and he swallowed drily.

"Hyper drive," he said.

"This close to the fleet?" Anchor raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right?"

"Turn the ship and hit hyper drive!"

Anchor shook his head and tugged the ship to the right. It lurched forwards, pushing them all back into their seats. The fleet bounced away from them and shot past in a golden streak, then they were gone.

...

Wildcard Gamma slowed a little too much for Macro's liking. His eye flew to the fuel gauge and his heart sank like a lead brick.

"Oh no..." He placed his face in his paws and sighed.

The gauge was nearly at zero, and they were miles away from Pulse City's fuel station. Not many stations would be happy to cater to such large flying vessels, let alone a space pirate.

"Guess we didn't really think this through," said Matrix.

"Don't be silly, Matrix," said Anchor. "None of us coulda seen that little escapade coming."

"Our stalker is back as well," said Matrix. "Just broke their own hyper drive right next to us."

Great. That didn't bode well at all.

"What do you suggest we do?" DL asked.

Macro spread his claws and stared blankly through the windscreen at the rapidly darkening cloudscape.

"Take a pod?" Anchor suggested. "And start making plans for Wildcard Delta?"

Macro's heart sank even further and he looked around at his ship while letting out a low groan. Did he really have to leave his beloved ship to plummet to a watery demise?

A sharp thunk of something hitting metal reverberated through the cockpit and he sat upright and looked over at the door. Anchor frowned and scratched the base of his mowhawk.

"What was that?" he asked.

Macro unbuckled his seatbelt and slid off his chair. "Wait here and prepare to activate the escape pods."

"Hang on, Cap'n!" Anchor reached out a paw to stop him. "You're checkin' it out alone?"

"I won't allow that," said DL.

Macro looked at each of his crew mates, ending with Matrix who met his eyes while twirling his left antennae in one paw.

"A captain always goes down with his ship," said Macro. "And it's my responsibility to make sure you all get off it safely. Make sure you take that talonflame with you as well. No sense in stopping Socket taking it only to let it fall into the ocean with Wildcard Gamma, is there?"

Anchor snorted and balled his fist. "I'm waitin' right here in case you need back up. Alright?"

"Fine." Macro looked back down at the ribombee. "Matrix, take DL into the cargo hold and prepare to escape with the talonflame. Anchor will be with you shortly."

The mawile fired the granbull a violet glare then left the cockpit. He opened the air lock's inside door and before he could even open the outer one he could already feel the temperature difference. The door opened and he poked his head out, clenching his teeth together as the chill cut through his fur and shocked his lungs with every breath. Frost lined the blue hull of his ship, creating a web across each of the tiny windows.

He squinted against the wind and brushed back a lock of black fur that whipped up to obscure his vision. Right at the tail of Wildcard Gamma flew a ship shaped like a tympole. A long pipe extended from its side and attached to the other end, perched atop the tympole's back, was a small, bipedal form with a very familiar ragged tail. Unlike himself, she'd decided to wear a helmet and padded suit to cut out the freezing air. Attached to her back was an oxygen tank that allowed her to breathe a bit better amidst the low air pressure, but the overall get up made it look more like she was preparing for a space excursion.

"Surge?" The wind drowned out most of his voice.

He crept from the door and scrambled onto the wishiwashi's main fin. She looked up as he drew closer and her muzzle twisted with fright. She pulled back from the pipe spilling red liquid down towards the ocean below. The tart stench of fuel hit him like a wet flannel and he took a step back. The zigzagoon reached out a paw, flailing helplessly several feet away.

"Get back inside!" Her voice was barely audible over the wind. "You're going to fall to your death, you moron!"

Macro shook his head and used his paws to steady himself as he climbed across the broad fin. "Not until you tell me what you're doing."

He thought he saw her sigh and she returned to her task. "I hacked into your ship's computer and saw you were low on fuel, so I followed you back from..."

She trailed off, but he didn't think it was purely because the wind was drowning out her voice.

"How on earth did you hack into my ship's computer?!" he spat.

"A hacker has her ways." She removed the pipe and fixed her brown eyes on his. "That should last you to Pulse City. Be more careful next time."

She released the pipe and it retracted into itself, flying back towards her own fuel tank. She disconnected it and clambered down towards her ship's door.

"Wait! Surge!"

She looked back up at him, but her expression was unreadable.

Macro gestured back to the door. "You saw us take that taloflame, right?"

"I did."

"It came out of that ring." He paused and scratched his head. "Don't you... wanna find out where it came from?"

"You're inviting me on board?" she asked.

He shrugged. "You did just help me out."

"Sorry, Macro," she said. "You don't want me on your ship."

She vanished inside the tympole and its door whirred shut behind her.

Macro shook his head slowly and turned as carefully as he could, retracing his steps along the wishiwashi's fin. Getting back into his ship was much easier than climbing out and soon he was back on board. The air lock hissed shut behind him and as the next door opened, he let out a yelp of surprise.

Anchor's eyes widened slightly and he looked from the mawile to the door and back.

"Everything all right?" he asked.

"Fine." Macro pushed past him. "Someone just stopped to give us fuel."

"You're kidding, right? Who'd help us?"

"I'm as confused as you are." Macro scratched his head and looked back up at his friend. "I guess we should check on that talonflame."

Anchor grunted and followed Macro down the corridor. Tiny paw steps and a deep buzz told him DL and Matrix had not only ignored his orders, they'd grown a little too curious and decided to join them, but he said nothing. Part of him appreciated the extra backup, even if it did mean his navigation system was unattended for a little while.

The stairs towards the cargo hold were situated inside Wildcard Gamma's loot room. Shelves holding various weapons adorned the walls, many of which were long out of service and beyond repair. Amongst them were artifacts he'd taken over the years, from valuable badges and coins to government ship parts. At some point, they'd be worth selling. Each door to the stairs needed one of the crew's paw prints to unlock it. The stairs were badly lit and Macro had to squint to see where he was going. He nearly walked into the door and muttered under his breath as he opened it out into the cargo hold.

The wishiwashi's maw was fastened tightly shut, preventing anyone from entering or leaving, but the panel to open it lay on the right side of its jaws. The talonflame was oddly silent, lying on its side in a tangle of chains that pinned its wings to its body. When it saw them, its beak flew open and it let out a scream.

"What do you want with me?!" The voice was male. "Where am I? What was that... thing?!"

Macro moved over to him and began tugging at the chains. "You're in System."

"System?!"

"Yup. To be exact, you're in System Sky."

The talonflame's beak hung open and his golden eyes widened. "What?"

"As for what that thing was," Macro went on, "it's apparently a tear in time and space. And those golden ships? They're the bad guys."

"So that makes you the good guys?"

Macro laughed and stood back up. "No one in System can be called a 'good guy'." He turned to Anchor and nodded to the feathered pokemon. "Think you can break these chains? I don't even know where to begin."

The granbull moved over to the talonflame and the bird cowered slightly as his massive fists reached down and tugged the chains apart. He let out a grunt and the golden links snapped audibly. They fell away from the talonflame and he pushed himself to his feet, stretching out his wings with a grateful sigh.

He looked from Anchor to Macro. "Thanks."

The mawile shrugged. "Whatever. So, where did you come from?"

"I came from System," the talonflame explained. "Although... I don't remember there being huge, flying, metal wishiwashi."

"So I was right. It was a tear in time and space." Macro scratched his scar.

"Things just got real," said Matrix.

Macro shrugged again and closed his eyes. "I guess we need to get you back, then, huh?"

"The ring vanished, though." Matrix twirled his antennae. "Right?"

The talonflame grimaced and looked over at the closed jaws of the ship.

"We'll figure a way." Macro folded his arms. "If Socket's tearing time and space open, we'll just make her send him back."

His paw went to his laser and the talonflame followed it, his eyes widening slightly again.

"So what's your name, big guy?" Macro asked.

"It's Switch," answered the talonflame.

"Switch, eh?" Macro grinned. "Since you're not from here, I guess telling you my real name doesn't matter, does it? I'm Macro, and this is my ship, Wildcard Gamma."

The talonflame raised an eyebrow and looked over at the rest of the crew. His eyes wandered to a strange, rather retro-looking digital watch around his right ankle.

"Well," he said. "I guess if we're being honest, and this really is System, then I don't need to hide myself, do I?"

He reached a claw to the watch and pushed the only button it sported. His entire body expanded and stretched out, filling up a majority of the cargo hold. Sprawled on the floor in the same space the talonflame had occupied was a strange bipedal creature that left Macro at a loss for words. The mawile's jaw fell open and he crumpled to the ground onto his bottom.

The strange creature - Switch - ran a hairless paw through a mop of red and brown fur on the top of his head and sighed. In fact, it was the only fur Macro could even see. The rest of his body was clothed in a brown flight jacket and a pair of black, baggy pants with way too many pockets for any sane pokemon to have. A long, thin black scarf trailed down his back in a way that said it was there for fashion more than for function.

He opened his golden eyes and met Macro's violet ones, reflecting his confusion. A thud behind him told him someone had fainted, and from the sound of it, it wasn't Anchor. The granbull stood beside him silently. His large mouth opened and closed as he attempted to find words but his eyes kept going to the ceiling thoughtfully, as if he was worried any words he chose might offend the strange... pokemon?... sitting before them.

Macro shook his head slowly, not taking his eyes off Switch. "What are you?"

Switch raised an eyebrow and leant back slightly. "What am I? I thought this was System? ...I'm a human."