Graffiti
"What the hell is this?" Samuel Makovitch, Hitmonchan, Executive Officer of the Makovitch Research Institute of Natural Sciences, jabbed his gloved fist towards a brick wall covered by gratuitous amounts of graffiti. "How in the hell am I supposed to attract potential clients or investors with shit like this covering my building? This happened under your shift. What the hell happened?"
"Well, I, uh..." Max shuffled his paws, withering under the glare of his boss. Never before had the Umbreon felt so small, even though he already weighed in less than the average for his species. What could he say? Umbreon were supposed to be nocturnal, but Max had just decided to take a little nap underneath the starlit sky. He had only evolved a few months ago, and this was his first job. "It... it won't happen again, Mr. Makovitch..." he said tentatively.
"You bet your rings, it won't!" the Hitmonchan growled. "In 20 years, I've never had a single incident on these grounds, and I don't plan to start having them now. If this happens again, you're fired."
Max looked up in shock, his lip quivering. He wanted to protest, but Mr. Makovitch was well within his rights. He screwed up. "Y-yes, sir!" he squeaked, splaying his ears and dropping his tail. The Hitmonchan turned and stormed away, leaving Max alone with his shame. The Umbreon turned and glared at the graffiti. As the morning sun climbed higher, its light illuminated the intricate lettering. "B... O... N... O... Ma... Malum? Bono Malum... what? Su... Super... Superate? What's that mean?" The Umbreon sat on his haunches, sighing, trying to remember. He had to take a class of Latin... this was Latin, wasn't it?
Studying had never been his strong point, and Max had certainly scraped past his classes by the skin of his teeth. He wasn't smart and he wasn't strong, so options for work were severely limited. This had been the only opportunity his teachers had been able to help him find. Without this, what could he even do? "Assholes..." he muttered, cursing whoever had put him into this situation.
The sun shone brightly, stinging at Max's eyes. Before, when he was an Eevee, he'd loved mornings. This one was especially beautiful, but he wouldn't have been able to enjoy it, even if he had been in the mood. For some reason, the morning light always made his eyes water. He blinked away the tears and started trudging home, head low. The MRINS sat on top of a hill with a pristine lawn, cut grass, trimmed hedges, and blooming flowers. Pokemon of all sorts were making their way up the many steps that wove their way up the hill. Already, there was a small group forming around the graffiti, and Max could hear the faint voices muttering their disgust. His stomach twisted into a knot.
Max's home was only a few miles away, but it took nearly three hours for him to get there. The Umbreon moped the entire way, dragging his paws through the dirt and keeping his head down. He lived somewhere about the outskirts of town in a woods. The trees offered shade from the sun, and Max was at least thankful that he didn't have to worry about his eyes watering anymore. Somewhere high above, a Tailow was singing a merry song. Max felt a little better.
"Aww, what the hell?" the Umbreon whined as his home, a small clay structure looking almost like a giant whelk. His door was open, almost as if someone had forced it. He broke into a sprint, and by the time he peeked his head inside, he was breathing hard. If someone were intended to rob him, they'd be rather disappointed. Outside of a straw bed and food, Max didn't really own anything. But the intruder apparently had other things on his mind.
A lavender furred body of an Espeon lay curled up on his bed, fast asleep. Max pulled back his ears, but he was too tired to even growl. "H-hey," he whimpered meekly, but the sleeping Pokemon didn't even twitch. He prodded at the Espeon, rocking him with his paws. "C'mon, dude! I'm tired! Get out of my bed!"
A gust of wind picked up and flowed through the open door, strong enough to knock Max on to his back. Wincing, the Umbreon crawled back to his paws only to notice the Espeon staring at him with deep violet eyes. "Heh. You're not very tough, are ya?" he said a purr that caused Max to shiver.
"W-Why're you in my bed?" Max stammered, ignoring the slight.
"Because I'm tired. I had a long night."
"Well, can you get out? This is my house! I had a long night, too!"
"Nope."
The Espeon laid his head back down, laying a paw over his nose, and began to snore, leaving Max standing there, dumbfounded. "H-hey!" he said, trying, and failing, to shout. His lip started quivering again, and his eyes started stinging. "Please get out of my bed? Please?" he whimpered, his voice cracking a little.
The Espeon groaned and turned over. "Fine, if it'll get ya to shut up, ya can sleep next to me. Just stop cryin'."
"Wait... what?" Max bleated, but the Espeon had already fallen asleep again. There was just enough room, at least, to get comfortable, so he crawled in. The moment his head hit the hay, though, all of Max's strength left him, and almost immediately, his eyes fluttered shut. The Espeon's body heat was soothing and comforting, and Max fell asleep with a small smile.
But his dreams were rudely interrupted as a sharp bang forced him away. He bolted up, eyes wide open, red eyes glaring about his home. "Hey!" he yelped as he saw the Espeon's rump wiggling, the Pokemon balancing precariously on a tall hamper that stored most of Max's bread. A ceramic plate lay shattered on the ground. The hamper started to rock back and forth, and Max watched with horror as it toppled over, spilling bread all over the floor.
The Espeon stalked out, his cheeks bloated as he gorged on more food. "Hey, ya got some good shit here," he said, bits of food spitting out of his mouth.
"I was saving that!"
"Geez, kid, is that all ya ever do, whine?" The Espeon swallowed, his belly slightly extended from all the bread. "It gets kinda annoyin', ya know?"
Max made a sound he couldn't describe and probably would never be able to replicate. He didn't know what he felt more, shock or anger. He sat down and folded his ears back. "Why're you so mean? I don't even know who you are! I didn't do anything to you."
"Bonum Commune Hominus," the Espeon said. Seeing Max's confusion, he rolled his eyes. "Oh, c'mon, all Pokemon know Latin. What're they teaching ya kids in school? Whatever, just call me Bee."
"I... I know Latin... kinda... My name's Max," the Umbreon said in defense.
"So, Max," Bee said, accenting his name in an odd way, "What gives?"
"Huh?"
"Why're ya all out here by yourself? Some kind of corpus vile?"
"A what?"
Bee shock his head again. "Nevermind. Why don't you live back in town with the rest of 'em?"
"I dunno, this was the cheapest place I could find."
"What about your friends? Sounds like ya just got outta school."
"My parents shipped me over here for my last year. I didn't really get a chance to get to know anyone." Max sighed. "B-but what about you, Bee?"
"Just an adventurer."
"Whoa, seriously? Like one of those rescue teams?"
"Sure, whatever."
Max's tail started to wag. "That's so cool! I totally wish I could go on an adventure. Being a security guard sucks..."
"Hmm? What's that?" Bee's ear twitched and he looked down at the runt Umbreon. "You? You're a security guard? That's pretty good for someone, uh... someone with your, uh... credentials. Where at?"
"Oh, you know the MRINS?" Max puffed his chest out. "It's my first job! I'm trying to do a good job, but some jerk painted graffiti all over one of the walls."
"Why would a kid like you want to work there? Ya know what that place is, right?"
"Huh, what do you mean?" Max tilted his head in confusion. "It's just a place where they research stuff, I guess. It's not like they let me help with whatever they're doing. I just wander around and help people find out where they need to go."
"So, ya pretty much have clearance for the whole building?"
"Yeah! If I'm not going around the building, I'm watching the cameras to make sure nothing bad happens."
"I imagine you have help, right?"
"Well, when I was training, they had someone with me. But I learn quick, though! It wasn't that hard, so now I can watch stuff by myself now. Until last night, nothing bad ever happened!" Max looked out towards the door. The grass outside was covered in shade. "Oh, crap! What time is it?"
"I dunno, maybe 7 or 8?"
"Crap, crap..." Max jumped up and shuffled in place. "Uh... I guess... um... you can just make yourself at home or something... I gotta go! Bye!" The Umbreon turned and bolted out the door, leaving the Espeon to watch behind him. He rushed as fast as he could, his stomach growling. "Darnit..." he muttered as he dodged around a tree that hadn't been there a second ago. He hadn't eaten since the evening before. Maybe he could grab something during his shift, provided he wasn't fired for being late.
The sun had just hit the horizon when Max climbed the stairs to the MRINS, huffing and puffing. He could see Mr. Makovitch standing off at the side of the building, glaring at the graffiti. Keeping his head down, Max bolted inside the front door, avoiding a confrontation. A Stunky sat at the front reception desk, her eyes glued to a screen. "H-hey, Sarah... sorry, I'm a bit late."
"Just a few minutes, no big deal," the Stunky said with a smile. "Just glad to be off. Hey, make sure nothing happens. I had to spend all day answering questions about that stupid graffiti. Mr. Makovitch was ticked!"
"Yeah... sorry about that. I'll do better, I promise!"
"I got a party I need to get to. Have fun!"
"C'ya, Sarah." Max watched as the Stunky hopped off and headed out the door. Sarah had started working a few months before he had, and she had been instrumental in getting him situated. Max climbed into the reception chair and placed his paws on a light metallic surface. On the screen in front of him, he watched as his login credentials were processed and accepted. The technology fascinated him; he could transmit information just by thinking about it. It didn't matter if the user had paws or talons or fingers or sludge; anyone could use it just as effectively as the next. Every room and door worked with the same technology, making it impossible to sneak somewhere where you weren't supposed to be.
The first task of his evening was to arrange and compile the day's logins and forward any unauthorized accesses to the proper firms. Most of the stuff was pretty basic, outliers caused by people holding the door open for someone else. Sometimes he'd have something serious, but nothing like that so far. Max's stomach grumbled, and he was thankful for when the system announced that all the day's personnel had left the building. Finally, he could grab something to eat!
Even the vending machines used the same login technology as the rest of the building. Everything he needed, he could do from this building, even pay the rent on his little hut. If he wanted, he could even sign on to the internet, but Max had quickly learned when he first started that such things couldn't be deleted out of the system. Eventually, his time would be audited, and he wanted to make sure that there would be no reasons to ever fire him.
The Umbreon was content to stick with bread for his evening meal, though this bread was his favorite, spiced with brown sugar, maple syrup and cinnamon. As he munched on slices, he started his second task, making sure no doors were ajar. While this was supposed to be the first thing that a security guard is supposed to check, all the doors in the building were electronic and automatically closed after 5 seconds, unless there was something between them. Every time Max checked, all the doors would be secure.
But this one was different, and the Umbreon frowned. A door on the far side of the building, where the labs were located, was open, and had been open since he'd arrived. Was someone trying to get him in trouble? Max slid his paw down the metallic strip, but the automation failed to trigger. Something was blocking the door from closing. This door couldn't be accessed from where he was; he'd have to go outside to fix it. "Aww, man..." he whined as he set his bread aside and hopped down. In the empty halls, his paws echoed loudly, and for just a moment, Max felt rather lonely
He paused as the evening air washed over him. Unlike his home, there weren't many trees to block the night sky, and the MRINS was far away from the light pollution of the city. When he wasn't doing his rounds, Max would be content to just sit on a wall and lose himself in the stars. Most of the brighter ones he could remember the names to, like Polaris or Regulus. He knew all the constellations as well. If he had any talent to call his own, that would be it. He watched the sky for hours before remembering that he had something to check on.
"Aww, what the heck?" he whined as he padded around the building. The door that the system said was open was firmly closed. A sudden chill passed over him and for a moment, Max could swore that his shadow flickered. A wave of curiosity consumed him. Maybe there was something on the inside of that door. Max strolled forward, placing his paws on the strip of metal that ran down the right side of the door, causing it to hiss and slide open. A gust caught him by surprise, and he almost tumbled inside.
"H-hello?" he called out, feeling very foolish. Who would respond to him? There shouldn't even be anyone here. He shouldn't even be here. But that thought didn't stop him from slipping inside, and when the door slid shut, he was wrapped in darkness. He could hear his heart beating, but as his night vision slowly came into play, his fear died down. Max walked the halls as quietly as he could. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and he couldn't hear anyone.
"Why am I even in here...huh?" Out of the corner of his eye, Max saw something flash by, a quick body, but when he turned, he saw something. His lip started to tremble again, and though he knew he should investigate, his legs just didn't want to work. "Is... is someone there?" he asked meekly, splaying his ears. Of course not, he was just being silly, scaring himself. He was the only Pokemon here.
A loud clatter shocked him, and Max whirled about, half-craved from panic. His heart beat so fast, he thought it would explode. The sound came from a lab twenty feet down and around the corner. Steeling himself, the Umbreon forced himself forward, placing his paws on the metal strip and opening the door.
Almost immediately, a gust of wind forced him inside, sending him sprawling. He winced and started to crawl back up to his feet, when a paw pressed down on his back, between his shoulder blades, pinning him down. "H-hey?!" he cried in protest, squirming around, when sharp pain pierced his ear, teeth biting down into it.
"Hey kid, you gonna shut up now?" the voice belonging to his assailant asked, and Max only managed a meek nod. The fangs released his ear, and he could feel a rough tongue lick at the wound. It felt good, but he was way too scared to purr. "Malo, go ahead and do your thing. The kid's not going anywhere."
The darkness, itself, seemed to coalesce into form, and a Gengar with a bright grin materialized. "Geeze, the kid's either as sharp as a bag of rocks or just really resistant. I've been working on him for like an hour."
"H-hey!" Max protested, but the paw forced him down again, cheek against the ground.
"Be quiet, kid. I don't want us to have to hurt ya. So just shut up and stop whining already."
The voice sounded so familiar, and Max twisted his head just enough to see a bit of lavender fur. "B-Bee? Is that you?"
The Gengar snorted as he floated through a desk. "Heh, met the kid already? Probably why it took me so long, probably thinking about you."
"After last night, I was tired. Found an abandoned house to crash at. Turns out, it wasn't abandoned."
Max's mind whirled. If he stayed really still, he could probably slide his legs underneath him and shove up, forcing the Espeon off balance. He could run and get help, no, that would take too long, and the two would be gone by then. He could try and restrain them, maybe? Being a dark-type would give him the advantage, at least. There was nothing else he could do, but try.
"Hnnngh!" he grunted as he heaved back, but even though Bee was forced off of him, the Espeon didn't fall back. Even worse, Max found himself suspended in air, his paws kicking helplessly.
"Kid, that's gonna cost you," Bee said, stalking around him.
The Gengar chortled, his claws on his belly. "Oh wow, a dark-type that can't even stop psychic moves. That's rich!"
"That... that's not fair," Max whimpered, his eyes tearing up. The Umbreon had never really been in a fight before, but this was just humiliating. Here he was, immobilized by an ability his species was supposed to be immune to in the first place. He watched Bee move around him until the Espeon left his line of sight. "Please put me down? I promise, guys, I won't tell anyone."
"Kid's got a nice ass on 'em," Bee shouted. "Think I should break it in?"
"Up to you. How'd you know that'd work, anyways?" Malo said, going about his business.
"Didn't. Panicked. Sorta a defense thing. Know what, kid?"
"W-what?" Max squeezed his eyes shut and started squirming as he felt Bee's rough tongue graze over his tailhole. His whole body tingled in a way he'd never felt before. "W-what're you doing? St-stop that! That feels weird!"
"Kid, I don't think you're in a place to be makin' demands." Max whined as whatever force kept him suspended in the air began to constrict painfully. "Think ya can behave a bit?"
Max could only nod submissively and watch was Bee trotted next to Malo. They whispered, discussing something too low for even Max to hear, and what bits he did overhear, he didn't understand. The two just spoke in Latin. The Gengar cast a glance in his direction, and Max felt himself flush. Being restrained like this was so embarrassing. He just wanted to crawl into a hole and die. "G-guys... at least... tell me what you're doing?" Bee glared at him, the same look that Mr. Makovitch gave him, the one that made him feel so small. "M-maybe... if you wanna...?"
Malo patted the Espeon's shoulder. "Bono Malum Superate. Overcome evil with good. We're finding evidence of the evil things this facility is doing and letting the public know."
"Evil things? B-but, I hadn't seen anything and I've been here for a few months now!"
"Kid, ya wouldn't know what ya were looking at ta begin with," Bee said with a snort. Max wilted a bit more.
"Anyways, Bee, I got what I wanted," Malo said, holding up a small discus. "We can look over it later. Should I leave you with your... friend?" Max found himself blushing, but he didn't know why.
"No, I'm heading out, as well. Didn't get much sleep. Somebody decided to hog the bed." Bee's look only made the Umbreon blush even deeper. "Let's get outta here. Later, kid."
The psychic hold disappeared, unceremoniously dropping Max in a heap. When he managed to climb back on to his feet, he found himself alone again, with no sound to be heard. He glanced around and stamped his paws. How much time had passed? How long had he been down here? Why was he still blushing so much? Even now, he could see the first signs of morning creeping through the hallway.
"I am so fired...."