-THE ADVENTURES OF TEAM ORACLE-
ISSUE #0: I GOT TURNED INTO A CHARMANDER AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT
“Uuughhh…”
All I could do was groan. What was this? Where was I..?
Odd questions to ask, I know. I should’ve been at home, in bed. Like I have been for the last 5 years.
But something told me this was different.
The sheets beneath me felt too plush. There was more noise than usual. Instead of the quiet rumble of an old air conditioner, I found myself listening to noise not unlike that of a lake’s.
I tried to move. To see what was around me. To see if I was just dreaming.
My head felt like an anvil. My back like a geriatric’s. Everything hurt…
It didn’t take long before more noise entered the picture. Tweeting from above. Incessant tweeting, from lord-knew-who. Tweet after tweet after tweet- until all went silent, and some quiet flapping could be heard.
Last thing I knew, I saw a pair of red talons in front of me, with two claws on one end and a single claw opposite those.
…
The next thing I saw upon waking was a wooden wall, strangely round. Nothing like the painted concrete from home.
And I wasn’t in a blanket. I was… covered in hay.
Before I could do anything, I noticed the small fire beginning to kindle underneath the hay. I jumped up, a little scream escaping me-
-before I saw that the hay wasn’t burning.
What the fuck?
Was this the afterlife? Was I somehow possessing Moses himself? Is that God over there, telling me to get a grip?
It didn’t matter what it was, really, because by the time I could begin thinking those thoughts they were interrupted by a green bird.
A round, green bird.
A round green bird with multicolored wings, a red feather for a crest, and a pair of deep black eyes.
“You’re finally awake. What took you so long?”
There was a…
“A…”
There was a Natu, just sitting there, staring into my eyes like I was nothing.
I sat up straight. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the fire from the hay swish with my movement. My skin ran cold, and my…
…
…my hair didn’t stand on end.
I didn’t have hair to stand on end.
I grasped for my head, scratching at it, expecting for my fingers to be buried in the usual unkempt mop sitting atop it. Instead, I was met with a pair of claws scraping against scales, and a slight bit of pain up there.
The Natu hopped back, cocking its head to the left and adopting a more concerned expression as opposed to the one it wore previous. “…I realize you’re not okay, but are you sure you haven’t lost your mind?”
Had I lost it? It was very possible…
All I did was bring my… claws… to the front of my head. My face. I stared at them for a moment, then my head drifted further down- back to the fire.
Swish swish.
I blacked out on the spot.
…
A week passed. During that time, I spent most of it in bed. Stationary, as always. Getting used to the body, getting used to my friend. He brought me soups and salads, berries and bread- whatever I needed, he said, to get my head working again.
And whatever he gave me certainly helped, because by day 7 I was already relearning how to walk and getting used to the extra appendage. The increased body temperature, the sunny sky. All of this…
Stepping outside for the first time, I perked my snout and took in a swath of fresh air. It felt crisp and smelled like the freshest morning dew you could ever muster. How on earth did I stand a week straight of staying inside and missing out on this? Of just laying in bed. How much more had I been missing back in the human world?
I shot a glance at my partner- the Natu now standing beside me- who mimicked my sniffing and smirked. “You act like you’ve never had a nose before.”
“I haven’t! Well- I mean, I haven’t had one here…”
A claw came up to my chin. “I told you, right? I’m not-“
Natu interrupted. “You’re not from around here. I know. You’re a human.”
He was so nonchalant about it- all I could do was gape at him for a moment. Another attempt was made to speak- “How did you-“
-and it was cut short, just as the last. The bird pointed to his head with a feather and flashed his eyes a little. “You know my species, and its hallmark. The telepathy helps.”
Suddenly, a burst of emotion caught me. I snorted, holding in a plethora of unexpected laughter, only catching my breath after a minute or so of awkward wheezing. “Oh, god, oh, god! How could I forget! Sorry, sorry- this is all so much, and I just-“
Another wheeze.
“God, it’s so much. But this is so cool! It’s so cool!!”
So cool, in fact, that I hadn’t even noticed the balled fists shaking with glee underneath my head.
The Natu chuckled before raising a wing to his own cheek and making a smug expression. “I can sympathize. In fact, I know exactly what you’re going through... because I was a human, too!”
It glared back at me with a confident expression, as if imitating some sort of weird anime pose.
Not like I noticed, considering this was the third world-shattering revelation I’d had in the past three minutes.
“No way!! No way, right? You’re pulling my leg. I heard you with that flock of Natu before, there’s no way-“
I looked to the left. One of his neighbors- another Natu, of course- was heading our way. “Hey! This guy’s not- he’s not human, right?”
She just gave me a concerned stare and started flying above us instead of bothering to walk around. Rude!
I huffed and crossed my arms. “Wow, she sucked.”
My partner huffed back. “That’s my ex-girlfriend. You’re completely right.”
I raised an eyebrow in return. “You’re joking.”
He shook his head. “No, I’m not. I said I’d be her girlfriend when I was three years old, and she accepted. Then we grew up and stopped liking the same Rescue Teams, so we broke up.”
My eyes swelled with interest, but the Natu stopped there. “I’m not going to elaborate. I was 9, I can’t remember exactly what team that was.”
I shook my head just the tiniest bit and leaned in a smidge. “No no, roll that back. Rescue Teams?”
The bird paused, his eyes darting between my own, clearly contemplating something. “Rescue Teams. You’d know, right? They’re teams assembled to help fight danger. To go explore new places. Find dungeons. Rescue people.”
My head had been shaking this entire time, more than eager to hear those words slip out of someone else’s… beak.
“Right, right! I know, I totally know.”
…
…
“You’re not a part of one, are you? Do you have any aspirations towards… such things?” I danced around the subject with grace.
And yet, somehow, the Natu managed to pinpoint exactly what I was saying. A small fire lit in his eyes. “Of course not. I’d never dream of exploring unknown territory, scouring every corner for treasure and camaraderie, bringing a small team with me through an ever-changing mysterious land to emerge victorious after handicapping a ne’er-do-well at the dungeon’s very core.”
His feathers fluffed up. “Never.”
Before I knew it, my cheeks hurt. I had the absolute smuggest expression on my face. “Well then. Clearly, you’d never dream of heading to the next town over and taking a gander at their mission board, right now.”
He was grinning back by now. “Oh, no. Such a deed would be thoroughly irresponsible, without proper preparation and planning ahead. Especially so now that I’m in a new body, unknown to my soul.”
I felt wind against my fangs as opposed to gums. “In which case, moseying down this here staircase would be a grave offense. A sin, even.”
The shuffling backwards had already begun.
“Indubitably so. Heresy of the highest order.”
The Natu shuffled afterwards.
Before we knew it, we were both racing down the steps, more than eager to get to where we knew we were going. That one town to the west with all the treehouses. We could see it from our own, and we couldn’t wait to get there. Treehouse town, here we come!