The Fifth Circle

<sub>[For what is possibly the FIRST TIME since this kid figured out how to hit the 'post' button, the video is actually STILL.]

[That's because he's set it down on a fence post. The pale, mystical feathers that have been coating every surface like magical dandelion fluff are drifting past on the breeze, but they're not the focus of the video. Instead, the 'Gear's camera seems to be pointed directly into someone's yard, although it's from a little bit of a distance.]

[The place is kind of a dump, with junk littering the corners and lots of weeds. A ramshackle doghouse is erected in the middle, with an upturned waterbowl that doesn't appear to have been filled in some time.]

[A coil of old, frayed rope is tied around one of the boards of the 'house' and at the end of it is a snoozing blue Vaporeon, ear-fins twitching lightly.]

[The view isn't especially zoomed in, but it's still obvious what the Pokemon is.]

[For a time, that's all the video shows.]

[But then Wrath speaks, his voice hushed.]</sub>


... I saw the man in that house come home and he didn't even PET her.

Or give her any food.

She looks sad.



[Half an hour later...]



_{[Now the feed shows HIM, and there's part of a rotten board stuck in his hair. And rope twines in his teeth. And he is cradling something blue that kind of overflows out of his arms in a pile of contented paws and fins.]}

This is Sleepy.

She's blue and I love her.

[Video]

<sub>[Victims of motion sickness beware, because there's about to be a good two minutes of jerky, dizzying footage of the floor, the ceiling, an upside-down bed, and what appears to be the foot of a small child. The telltale sounds of hands grappling with a PokeGear are what dominate the audio feed, but murmuring in the background are what sound like deep, rumbling growls and a youthful, high-pitched voice-- probably belonging to the owner of that foot.]

[And then all at once the camera stops and gives everybody a great view of a pair of nostrils and, somewhere above them, a slightly more pleasant-to-behold pair of bright blue eyes.]</sub>

--ink... I think it's a toy.

But not the kind you chase.

The other kind.

Um.

A puzzle.

_{[The screen jitters again-- now it's mostly tangled black hair on the screen, and a bony shoulder poking out a shirt that's way too big for it. Behind it is an expanse of leathery-looking flesh probably belonging to whatever's doing all that growling.]}

Ahuh... yeah, it's definitely a puzzle. I can tell 'cause it's got a lot of buttons.

_{[A chorus of deafening beeps sound as the kid promptly sets about trying to solve the puzzle by PRESSING EVERYTHING until the PokeGear is gently removed from his grasp by a set of bulky, blunt-clawed hands. And then, at a proper angle for the first time in this entire broadcast, a Kangaskhan's face appears in front of the screen, rumbling softly in greeting. She knows what a PokeGear is for! ... But then almost immediately a pair of pale little hands pop over the Pokemon's shoulder and try to grab the camera back.]}

No, no, I wanna solve it! I wanna solve the puzzle! Please? Please! Pl-- whoa!

_{[Standing all the way up, the Kangaskhan holds the camera in front of her and starts to plod across the small, undecorated dormlike room they're in, presumably towards the door, and presumably with her pint-sized trainer dangling from the 'puzzle'. Aaaand after some jostling, the feed cuts.]}


[Action for Rockets]

<sub>[In a building full of sneaky people, another sneaky person doesn't really stand out unless they're particularly bad at sneaking.]

[It just so happens that Wrath is not exactly the best at this.]

[Give him trees or bushes and sure, he can creep around like a good little let's-not-run-into-this-thing-in-the-dark. But all these winding hallways are slightly more alien territory, and there's only so many ways you can hide behind a corner without getting spotted. Especially when your GIANT KANGASKHAN STARTER KEEPS ON MARCHING STRAIGHT DOWN THE HALL LIKE SHE DOESN'T EVEN CARE IF THEY'RE SPOTTED.]</sub>

Mama!

_{[This flustered hiss comes from behind an open door, where Wrath had ducked upon seeing a couple of much-taller Rocket Grunts go strolling past. Now he's peeking out, expression somewhere between frustrated and oh my god WHAT ARE YOU DOING AAAA]}

Don't do that, they'll see you!

<sub>[HE DOESN'T KNOW WHO THESE PEOPLE ARE. Only that they're humans, and they're wearing uniforms. Uniforms that are drastically different from the ones he's used to seeing, of course, but he's had precisely one (1) significant experience with dudes in uniforms, and it was a really bad one. MIGHT AS WELL NOT TAKE CHANCES.]

[The Kangaskhan, however, has other plans. She's marching towards the Mess Hall and seems a little exasperated that her trainer isn't following her. :I HUMANS.]</sub>