The bright morning rays of the sun snuck through the crack in the curtains and fell upon Xerox’s shut eyelids. The Zoroark’s eyes clenched tighter as his head rolled away from the line of light and on the other side of the pillow, but even there light danced over his face. Xerox frowned as he reluctantly leaned up from the soft pillow and his eyes opened half-lucidly, a yawn escaping from his mouth.
He cracked his neck left and right and raised the back of one of his paws to rub the sand out of his eyes. He glanced to his right at the clock hanging on the wall and his eyes widened slightly to see it was almost ten o’clock.
Arceus... I slept very late; I guess yesterday wore me out more than I thought, he mumbled in his mind. I better get fully awake and make a quick breakfast, I’m sure Scarlet has been up for a long time, he thought as he twisted his hind legs over the side of the bed and pushed himself off of the mattress, a faint impression of his body staying for a moment before the form retook it’s original shape.
He made his way to bathroom to take care of some bodily needs before washing his paws clean and splashing some water over his face to snap himself more awake. After drying off he headed down the hallway and into the kitchen, quickly noticing it wasn’t empty.
Grace was standing next to the side of the kitchen counter, several bowls lined up in a row filled with lettuce, cut olives and cucumbers, and she was in the middle of cutting some carrots to add to them. The teal unicron glanced the side of her head towards Xerox’s direction and a small smile crossed her face. “Ah, you’re finally awake I see,” she said, turning her head back around to focus on cutting the remaining carrots. “In case you were wondering, your two other friends already woke up just around sunrise and left shortly after, though I don’t know where.”
The Zoroark frowned slightly upon what she said, though it didn’t sound totally off. Scarlet was a Ranger, hearing she and Lance waking up in the morning light wasn’t much of a surprise. Admittedly though it was one of the habits he needed to work on himself though he was sure that whatever they were doing, they not going to cause any trouble... hopefully.
He let out a small yawn and stretched out his neck, rubbing a paw on the back of it. “Well, I’m sure I’ll run into them later...,” he said before looking up at the unicorn who seemed to barely acknowledge his statement as she cut the carrots with extreme, yet focused force. Xerox’s claws lightly tapped against each other, feeling a bit awkward. “...I would like to thank you again for letting us stay here... it’s been a while since I actually slept on a full mattress... heh.” He gave a small sheepish smile, trying to lighten the mood of the dark cloud over the mare, though mentally he was slapping himself for making such a joke on the bed topic.
The chopping sound of Grace’s knife slowed to a halt and the mare’s eyes closed for a short moment before she turn her head around, a soft smile on her muzzle. “It’s no problem... I never turned a pony... or any being down in need of a home,” she said, her smile having a hard time keeping it shape as she turned her head away and resumed in cutting the last of her carrot and distributing them roughly evenly in the salad bowls. “Beside... I couldn’t really deny the sheriff's offer...” Grace then glanced to the side of her head over to him. “And really? What did you sleep on most of the time?”
One of Xerox’s paws lifted up to rubbed the back of his head as he glanced away slightly. “...mostly on my couch cushion... some times I got a bit... too tired to unfold the bed out from under it.”
The mare chuckle softly and turned her head back to the rows of bowls, her magic reaching out to get covers for each of them. A thought then suddenly struck her and she shook her head. “How forgetful of me... do you want anything to eat?” she asked, turning her head back around to face him. “I don’t have any meat in store though...”
“That’s okay, I’m an omnivore, so I can eat vegetables and fruits,” Xerox informed her. “And... well, I really don’t think you have any Pecha berries, do you?
Grace frowned and shook her head. “No... but I got some Peaches if that what you meant.”
“Peaches? Umm... sure, I’ll try one,” he replied with a small nod of his head.
Grace nodded her head once and glance over to the fridge, a glow wrapping around the handle and it swung open. A orangish-yellow fruit shortly float out of it and over to Xerox, where he plucked it out of the telekinetic hold. He examined the texture of the fruit and took a few sniffs of it before he took a bite. An odd yet somewhat familiar taste of a Pecha berry rolled in his mouth, just a bit more sweet maybe. A light smile crossed his face as he took another bite.
“Like it?” Grace asked curiously as she continued packing.
Xerox nodded his head. “Mhm,” he hummed out before swallowing. “It tastes a bit like a Pecha berry, just a tad sweeter, though it does lack a bit of the ‘spark’ Pecha berry have.”
“Ah,” she said with a small shrug. “Well, I’m glad you like it.” She frowned for a moment. “So... I have a question or two if you don’t mind me asking.”
The Zoroark glanced up at the mare and nodded his head. “Sure, I’ll try to answer anything to the best of my ability,” he replied before taking another bite of the peach.
“Okay then, why did you change what you looked like when you were in ‘investigation mode’?” she asked. “Does it give you special powers?”
Xerox’s chewing slowed down just a bit before swallowing and shaking his head. “No... it doesn’t. My...species have a unique ability of making it look and feel like we’re taking the form of anything we want. I just transformed into my human form because it helps me think a bit more... clearly, in a matter of speaking. It’s more of a placebo really.”
“I see...” the mare frowned. “I don’t get it.”
Xerox frowned slightly as he tapped a claw on his chin. “It’s... really hard to explain.” He closed his eyes for a moment as he think. “Well it’s like putting on a glove, even though you have no need of it.” Grace gave him another questioning blank look. He took one small glance down and mentally facepalm himself. “Right, you probably don’t wear gloves.”
“No but I’ve seen minotaurs who wear them,” she replied with a small shrug. “Though I still don’t really understand what you’re talking about.”
“What part exactly are you not understanding, if you don’t mind me asking?” Xerox inquired with a small frown, his arms crossing over each other.
“Well, it seems to me that if it doesn’t give you any special powers or make your brain work better then you could be better off in the fur,” she said with a small shrug. “It’s nice fur after all and that other thing you were was kind of creepy... like a hairless ape or something.”
The Zoroark blinked a bit in surprise; he didn’t know what a ape was, but the comment made it sound not a good thing. One of his claws began to tapped lightly against his arm. “That’s... not entirely true. It did have a purpose; it was to help me blend in the city I was in, so I wouldn’t be discover.” He left a paw and rubbed the back of his head. “You see, Pokemon have some rights... but not many, and there’s even fewer for Pokemon like me. You see... Zoroarks have a bad reputation of causing... trouble wherever they roam. I just wanted to be left alone so I could study on becoming a detective, so I created the ‘body’ I was using yesterday.”
“Oh, I see.” She frowned. “That doesn’t sound very fair.”
A short sigh left Xerox’s muzzle. “No it doesn’t, but there are some reasons to the laws. Still, I’ve lived among the humans for nearly eleven years and just transforming into my human body is kinda second hand to me when I’m about to work. Like I said, it just helps me think better and keep my mind focus.”
“Alright then, I was just curious,” she replied with a small shrug. “Still, try and stay in the fur please... the other form is weird.”
“Noted,” Xerox replied with a nod of his head.
“Greetings citizens of Equus, both old and new.”
Xerox’s ears perked up from the sudden voice speaking out of nowhere while Grace’s ear did the same as she suddenly startled.
“I am Lord Arceus, creator of the Pokémon realm.”
Xerox’s mind and heart lagged for a split second and his eyes went wide.
“You have no reason to fear me, I come in peace.” Lord Arceus continued, the Zoroark standing still like a statue while the mare was still looking around for the source of the voice. “I have revealed myself to inform you that I am the one responsible for the Pokémon’s presence in this world, for the citizens of Equus, the Pokémon are the beings who have appeared over the past few days.”
“To my Pokémon, I say this, I brought you, all of you, here so that you could live in peace, do not seek to harm the natives of this world, for I am the one responsible for your displacement. And to the Pokémon who went through changes when I brought you here I say this.”
“You are the ones who proved themselves worthy, those who were fair, kind and good in the old world, consider this your reward. And to all of you, as sapients the laws of Equus, and the varying countries, now apply to you, and only the laws of Equus.”
“That is all for now, but just to be clear, the Pokémon are not to be harmed simply out of spite, if you have a problem with what I’ve done, feel free to contact me, I currently reside in an ancient temple deep in the Everfree Forest, or a pocket dimension outside of the space time continuum, so if any of you wish to face the sheer power of a god, feel free to come by.”
“Goodbye for now, though I doubt this will be the last you hear of me, and peace to you all.”
Grace stared at Xerox for a moment before fainting. Xerox felt he was about to do the same, but after seeing the mare fall to the floor he snapped out of his shocked state. He rushed forward and began fanning a paw over her face. “Hey, are you alright?” he asked, lightly shaking her shoulder. The mare only groaned faintly, still unconscious.
Xerox bit his bottom lip for a moment before glancing over to the door of the kitchen to make sure it was open before glancing back down at the mare. He ceased in fanning her and moved his arms underneath her side and gently lifted her up and slowly made his way to the living room, placing her on the couch that was thankful under a running fan. He stepped back and his claws began to rapidly tap against each other.
Well... that explained a lot of questions, he thought to himself before a trouble frown form on his face. Why do I get the feeling though that more problems will arise now than ever before?