No Such Thing as Science [Guess the Crossover, Rated PG]

:(

- Chapter 0: Activated
- Chapter 1: The Beginning Begins
- Chapter 2: The Human
- Chapter 3: The Machine
- Chapter 4: Deletion is Not an Option

//----------
// Chapter 0 = Activated
//----------

The clock on the desk ticked and tocked loudly in the silence. On the desk, a framed photo gathered dust until it was picked up and wiped with a tear-soaked shirt sleeve. In it was a young boy in his favorite, brightly colored sport clothes with a yellow and blue windbreaker. This boy was grinning from ear to ear, with both arms curled around his prized Nidorina as she grinned to the camera also. This was a window into a world where time stood still, and in this frozen realm there was no sadness. There was no reality.

On this side of the frame, this same boy who was not quite the same boy wore his favorite windbreaker that was not quite the same windbreaker, and there was time. Here, there was sadness. The boy cradled the frame to his chest and sobbed. In this world, there was no Leona.

The boy struggled to think. He didn't even know what to think about. He needed something, something to help ease his heart. What had happened to his Leona? And why? These questions battered his mind, but he could not think of an answer.

"Leon!"

The boy turned to his computer. He had forgotten he left his webcam on.

"Leon, are you crying?"

"...I-I'm fine..." he replied, turning away from the camera. He tossed the picture onto his bed across the room and wiped his eyes before turning around to his computer screen. He clicked his camera's flashing icon, and opened a window to his friend Karl's computer.

"You are crying!" said Karl. "What happened, man?"

"It's nothing."

"That must have been a pretty bad nothing..."

"Look, uh... I'm almost late for... s-something... I gotta go, okay?"

"But you just got here, didn't you?"

Leon turned off his webcam and shut his computer. Then he stared at it for a moment. It was a laptop computer that he took everywhere with him, and it showed in one of the corners that Leona had chewed on it when she was young. Leon ran his fingers over the grooves and dents her teeth left. Suddenly he heard the whirring noise of the machine's cooling fan.

"Leon, open your computer." said a monotone, female voice.

He sat puzzled for a moment. The voice came from his computer, but didn't he just log out of his messenger?

"Leon, your computer is still closed. Open it."

Still somewhat dazed, he slipped his finger across the locking mechanism and flipped the screen back open. His messenger was running again, but its display window was black.

"Leon," the voice returned, "Karl will come to your house in seven minutes. You will not tell him about Leona."

"I-I won't...?"

"No questions. Karl will come to your house in six minutes and fifty-five seconds. You will not tell him about Leona."

Leon shivered and closed his messenger. What had just happened?

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. Outside, his friend Karl had just arrived.

"Hey Leon, uh, I just remembered I left my soccer ball over here from yesterday. Have you seen it?"

"Yeah, it's right over here..."

Leon led his friend into the house and showed him where he had kept the soccer ball overnight.

"L-Leon?"

"What?"

"...Just a minute ago, on the computer... What was wrong?"

"I told you it's nothing. Just... something in my eye."

"Come on, you can tell me, man..."

Suddenly Leon's cell phone rang. He examined its outside screen, and its Caller ID was "Unknown Caller." The phone number itself, oddly, was not displayed.

"J-just a minute..." he gestured to Karl as he opened the phone. "Hello?"

"Do not speak."

Leon shuddered. This was the same voice that spoke from his computer.

"Wh-who is this?"

"No questions. Your friend has left his bicycle next to your front door. You will take it and ride to Hearthome City down Cycling Road."

"What!?"

"In fifteen minutes Cycling Road will be destroyed. You must cross it before then. You have been activated, Leon."

It always makes me sad that my new ideas flow so easily while my more major stories end up losing steam. =/ But while this idea is new, I'm gonna write as much of it as I can. Foooor whatever reason.

//----------
// Chapter 1 = The Beginning Begins
//----------

Leon slammed his phone shut and dropped it onto the floor in panic.

"L-Leon? What was that about?" Karl gasped.

Leon's spine shook. Who was this and why was she calling him? Why was she telling him what to do?

"Leon?"

"I-I..."

"...Hey, where's Leona? Isn't she always here?"

Leon froze.

"Wait... if you were... uh... D-did something happen?"

"..."

"L-Leon, tell me man... Something happened to Leona, right?"

"...I-I don't know."

"How do you not know?"

"Sh-she was just... gone..."

"Just 'gone'?"

Leon's phone pinged. He had received a text message.

"You have disobeyed, Leon. Get out of the house."

Leon stared at the phone's screen, puzzled again. Who sent this, and were they just listening to him and his friend...?

Karl noticed his shocked expression. "What is it? Let me read it!"

Just then the phone pinged again, and another text message appeared.

"You have fifteen seconds. Retrieve your computer and leave the house."

This time, Leon did not know what else to do. He felt a panic seize him, and he watched himself dash back into his bedroom, snatch his laptop from his desk, and back to the front door.

"Karl, get out of the house!"

"What? Why?"

"Just do it!"

The moment Karl stepped out into the street, a crane from the apartments under construction next door shocked the silence of the town in a sudden explosion. Its arm tumbled in the air and slammed onto Leon's house, smashing it into the ground. Leon and Karl stood motionless.

"D-d... Did that just..." Karl stammered.

Leon turned and looked about. There was no one around anywhere in the town.

"HellOOOOO!!" he cried. "My HOUSE WAS JUST SMASHED!! WHO DID THIS!?"

He made his way over to the town markets. Wasn't his mother grocery shopping? But there was no one here, there, or anywhere.

"Karl? Where... is everybody?"

Leon felt a chill from his neck surge down his back. When he turned around, even Karl was gone. The whole town had disappeared.

"Th... This isn't funny!" he yelled. "Karl! Karl!!"

His phone began to ring again. He hastily whipped the screen open and screamed into the microphone.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?" he cried. "Leona--my house--the whole town!"

"No questions." the computer replied dryly. "You were told not to speak of Leona. You disobeyed."

"W-who are you!?"

"No questions. Take your friend's bicycle and ride to Hearthome City down Cycling Road. In ten minutes Cycling Road will be destroyed."

Leon slowly turned a gaze back to his destroyed house. The bike outside had been blown away a short distance, but it was still there. By now Leon was convinced that this voice was trying to save his life. But as he approached the bike, another thought entered his mind: What if this voice was setting up these incidents to begin with? But no... why would it set him up and then try to save him? Confused as he became, Leon lifted the bike off the ground and rode south to Cycling Road. He packed his computer into a backpack and kept his cell phone on in his pocket.

It didn't take him long to reach the road. As he pedaled down the inclined bridge, he looked about himself; he was still alone. It was as if everyone in the world had just vanished but him and this mysterious guide.

Just as he exited the bridge, his phone pinged inside his pocket. He stopped for a moment to read the message.

"Cycling Road will be destroyed in four seconds. Turn left and cross Mount Coronet into Hearthome City."

Leon turned and looked tho the road the moment he read this: surely enough, the mountains to its sides began to tumble in on it. Giant boulders smashed into the road in a furious rock slide and twisted and crushed it. He turned nervously back to his phone.

"You have crossed Cycling Road. Congratulations."

Whoo, three chapters in one day. Break time... hopefully the idea will still be fresh tomorrow afternoon. x_x;

//----------
// Chapter 2 = The Human
//----------

Barely minding his own movements anymore, Leon did as the text instructed him and continued to Hearthome City. He felt as if he was losing control of his whole life, as if there was no such thing as choice.

The phone rang again. Leon answered it half-heartedly, not even bothering to say hello.

"You are doing quite well." said the voice. "Enter the Pokemon Center in Hearthome City. On the end table to the right of the door there is a satellite card for your computer. I have installed driver software onto your computer to enable it to use the device. Plug it into your computer's side expansion bay to gain access to the Internet at any time. Then, open Bebe's PC. There will be a level one hundred male Fearow, two point five meters long with a wing-span of four meters, in Box number one. Do not take the wrong pokemon. I will email you its image, for certainty. Withdraw this pokemon and fly yourself and the female to Snowpoint City."

Leon was barely listening as the voice continued. It would probably call again and repeat itself as he got closer to the Pokemon Center.

The phone rang once more. Surely enough, it did.

"It is imperative that your computer have satellite Internet access. Turn your computer on and insert the satellite card. Its driver software has already been installed."

Leon did as the voice told him and inserted the card. The moment he opened his browser, the icon for his email client flashed, indicating he had received a new message. He clicked it and read.

"Open Bebe's PC. There will be a level 100 male Fearow, 2.5 meters long with a wing-span of 4 meters, in Box #1. Do not take the wrong pokemon. I will email you its image, for certainty. Withdraw this pokemon and fly yourself and the female to Snowpoint City."

Something inside him told him he had to open the attached image. He didn't quite know why; he already knew what a Fearow looked like. And why did this person bother giving him its measurements? There wasn't even anything special about the photo.

Just as he was about to close the email, he noticed something. 'The female'? He hadn't noticed that the computer had said this on the phone. Who was 'the female'? Hadn't the whole world just... magically vanished? He started to wonder for just a moment, then a second email appeared.

"Leon, the PC is still off. Turn it on, now."

He turned and approached the building's PC. Just as he reached for its Power button, he heard the door to the Pokemon Center open again.

"He-llo? Who's there?"

Leon snapped his head around to the door, shocked to hear a human voice - rather than the monotone-ish voice that was calling him. The girl at the door entered cautiously, as if she was just as surprised to see Leon. Her hair and eyes were a light lavender, and she wore a shirt of the same color, and white shorts. She looked the same age as Leon.

"Who are you?" she asked nervously.

Leon didn't know how to answer. It felt as if he did not know who he was either - not anymore.

"Um... are you the... 'male'?" she blushed.

Leon struggled to answer. "U-uh.. yes?"

The girl's cell phone beeped briefly. She turned away for a moment to read the text message, then turned back to Leon.

"Is there a Fearow in the PC?"

Leon turned on the computer and accessed Bebe's Storage System, and paused. It asked him for a login password.

He thought to himself for a moment. "A login password... Trainers have ID numbers to log in to their storage systems, right? But... I'm not a Trainer... am I?"

"Is it asking for a password?" the girl asked, approaching the computer. "I have it..."

She entered the five numbers onto the computer's numeric keypad: 65536. The login was successful, and the PC box opened. The UI showed one Fearow among several other mysterious and powerful pokemon.

Leon blinked. "I-is this... your box?" he asked.

"Um, no..." she replied, "The text I just got told me to use that... I'm not a Trainer."

Leon turned nervously back to the PC. Whose pokemon were these? But... did it matter? He was told to take out the Fearow and fly to Snowpoint. But couldn't he have done this from the Pokemon Center back home in Eterna City... or was this girl somehow important?

She selected the Fearow, and an Ultra Ball appeared in the withdrawal tube and tumbled out. Leon examined some of the box's other pokemon. He had never even seen several of these before.

"That ID number you had... Who sent it to you?" he asked the girl.

She turned pale. "U-um... I don't know. It was just this--"

"Weird voice?" Leon interrupted. "Did it sound like... a talking computer?"

"Y-yes!"

Leon's cell phone rang in his pocket. "You are falling behind schedule. Open the Ultra Ball and fly to Snowpoint City now." the voice said. "The Pokemon Center will be destroyed in thirty seconds if you do not leave."

"Th-thirty seconds!?"

"No questions. Open the Ultra Ball and fly to Snowpoint City now. The Pokemon Center will be destroyed in twenty-four seconds if you do not leave."

"Wait, what did it just say?" the girl panicked. "What about thirty seconds?"

"Qu-quick, empty the PC! We've got... twenty seconds to get out of here!"

Both of them thrashed around the PC box, withdrawing any random pokemon their fingers happened to touch, without examining any of them at all. As soon as they had withdrawn twelve, they dashed out of the Pokemon Center and slammed the Fearow's ball on the ground. They leaped onto its back and it took off, without even needing a command.

"There! They're fleeing!" shouted a voice from below.

Leon looked down onto the city and saw a crowd of police and perhaps even soldiers nearing the Pokemon Center begin to chase their Fearow. Lines of cars and armored vehicles sped in front of them, anticipating their movement, and began to fire at the Fearow until it - and its passengers - disappeared far into the sky.

"W-were those... more people?" the girl shivered. "Why are they after us?"

Her cell phone rang. As she pulled it from her pocket, she put it on Speaker mode so that Leon could hear as well. "You have escaped three point one four seconds before the detonation." said the voice. "Congratulations."

Leon clung to the Fearow's neck. "Wh-what's going on...?" he sobbed. "I... why me...."

The girl's phone beeped again. "Tell the male your name."

She inched up the Fearow's back and tapped Leon's shoulder. "M... male?" she mumbled nervously. There was no end to how awkward she felt calling him that.

Leon looked over his shoulder to her and wiped his eyes.

"What... is your name?"

"...Leon," he replied.

She paused for a moment, then giggled quietly.

"What...?" said Leon.

"I'm... Leona."

Wheeeee. *static*

//----------
// Chapter 3 = The Machine
//----------

The Fearow soared through the sky without paying mind to its passengers. Leon and Leona struggled to keep hold of it as it sailed the turbulent, freezing winds north of Mount Coronet. As soon as it arrived at Snowpoint City, the furthest northern reach of Sinnoh, it stopped so suddenly it seemed as if it had hit a wall. It landed with great care.

Leon and Leona's cell phones both rang at the same time. Voice said the same thing to both of them: "Welcome to Snowpoint City. As the Human is behind schedule and has not yet been uploaded, you both have some time to enjoy yourselves. This city has a very lively ski resort. The house to your right contains food and ski equipment you are free to use for the next two hours and twelve minutes. Hot chocolate is also being prepared for you. Relax now."

The Fearow returned to its Ultra Ball without command, while Leon and Leona stared at each other, baffled. Skiing? The town was deserted, just like the others...

They entered the house, and surely enough the front room did smell of hot chocolate and marshmallows. The lights were already on, and two sets of skis, snowboards, and winter clothing were leaning on a nearby wall. Leon and Leona looked at each other for a moment. With nothing else to do, they settled into the house.

"You had a pokemon?" Leona asked, sipping her hot chocolate.

"Yeah," Leon sighed, "...I'm not a real trainer, but one day a Nidorina showed up near my house and wouldn't leave, so I just let her in." He took a sip of his hot chocolate, and added a marshmallow. "I must have had her for years... I don't even remember what it was like before she was around."

"And you named her Leona? That's so cute..." Leona giggled uncertainly.

Leon smiled a bit too. Leona had no idea how much she reminded him of his Nidorina.

"What happened to her?"

Leon hesitated to answer. He waited a moment for his phone to ring, in case Voice was going to tell him not to speak. After this pause, he looked back into Leona's eyes.

"...I don't know." he whispered. "It was just this morning... She was gone, and I had a feeling she would never come back... She must be dead, she must be..."

"Y-you shouldn't say things like that," Leona whispered back. "If there's anything I've learned from being in this weird world, it's that... you shouldn't trust your feelings. This Voice... it's trying to use our feelings to control us."

"I heard that." Leon's computer said.

"But if we don't let ourselves feel..." Leon murmured, "Then we'll... become just like her."

Leona withdrew for a moment. "I... understand where you're coming from," she sighed, "But..."

Leon touched her hand. "No buts," he smiled. "...You know, now that I know there's another person here, it makes me feel better, ya know? Seeing another human... makes me feel more human myself."

Leona blushed softly, and held his hand too. She took another sip of her hot chocolate.

"Awwww..." Leon's computer hummed, followed by a brief burst of static noise and sparks.

The sun began to set over the snow-covered trees outside the west window. As the light faded, Leon's computer turned back on again and opened the webcam messenger. The screen was a bright display of various colored pixels jostling about, like the colorful static of a broken MPEG player. "Good evening Humans," Voice greeted. Unlike normal television or radio static, this static made no noise, so Voice spoke very clearly. "Great news, the Human has arrived and has been activated."

Leon and Leona listened intently as Voice mentioned 'the Human.'

"There is a Poke Mart a short distance to the west where the Human is waiting. Leona, bring him the Storage Cube. Leon, make sure you are in possession of the level one hundred male Fearow, two point five meters long with a wing-span of four meters. Any other pokemon you or the female are carrying with you--not that you are; I trust that you did not withdraw any other than the level one hundred male Fearow, two point five meters long with a wing-span of four meters, from the PC--must be left behind."

They looked at each other and gulped.

"After you have made these preparations, walk seventy-three yards to the west to the Poke Mart where the Human has been initialized. Any further direction... is probably not necessary. Good luck." The computer shut off.

"...Storage Cube?" Leon asked, turning to Leona.

Leona realized she had forgotten to explain what had happened before she and Leon met in Hearthome City. "Well," she began, "It started a lot like yours did... but I was told to go to Professor Rowan's laboratory and find this box." She opened her backpack and picked out a small, silver metal cube with a '!' on each face. "Voice told me it's a Storage Cube, but she didn't tell me what was in it."

Leon examined it for a brief moment, then stepped toward the door. "Guess we're about to find out," he grinned. "Let's go."

Now THIS one was fun to write. Enjoy. ^_^

//----------
// Chapter 4 = Deletion is Not an Option
//----------

A light snow began to fall as Leon and Leona left the house and crossed town to the Poke Mart. The glass door of the building slid open as they approached. In this building too, the lights were already on. A silhouetted figure came forward from a back room of the market. Leon recognized him right away.

"Karl!" he called loudly. "Karl! You're here too!!" He rushed over to greet him.

Karl was shocked for a moment, but grabbed Leon's hand and forced a shoulder into his chest. He clearly recognized his friend as well.

"You just got here, didn't you?" Leon asked. "What was it like?"

Karl raised an eyebrow. "What was what like? I work here, don't I?"

"We're in Snowpoint City, man!"

Karl suddenly recoiled in surprise. "...S-S-Snowpoint!? How the--"

Leona stepped forward. "Your guess is as good as ours," she said. She picked up the Storage Cube from out of her backpack. "Do you... know what this is?"

Karl studied it for a moment, then his cell phone rang.

"...Hello?"

"Good evening, Karl."

"Who is this?"

"No questions. Escort the Humans to the back room of the Poke Mart and provide them with firearms. Kill them afterward."

"What!?"

"That is all."

Leon watched Karl turn pale and slip his phone back into his pocket. He knew in the back of his mind who had called, and could even guess what she said.

Karl looked back up at Leon nervously, and stepped back to the rear room. "...This way," he beckoned.

The lights to the back room turned on automatically as the three entered: the room was filled with all sorts of weapons and firearms.

Voice spoke over a PA system inside the room. "Welcome to the armory." she greeted, "Here you will find a wide selection of offensive and defensive equipment for the next phase of the test, free of charge. The Karl Wesson will provide you with any equipment of your choice. Happy shopping."

"K-Karl?" Leon stammered, "...Where... did all this come from?"

Karl was just as surprised. None of these weapons were here before. "Just... just take something." he shuddered. "Anything..."

"But why?" Leona asked. "Why would this... thing... be giving us guns?"

"Just take something..." Karl repeated, and drifted off to one of the shelves. He picked up a rifle and examined it. He had no idea how to use any guns.

"All projectile weapons in this room are pre-loaded with necessary ammunition," Voice announced. "Any extra ammunition... is probably not necessary."

Leon and Leona wandered about the armory. Would Voice let them leave if they didn't take any weapons? Not likely. They reluctantly picked up a random pair of handguns.

"You have successfully equipped yourselves for the next phase of the test." Voice announced. "Congratulations. See the Karl Wesson for your reward."

As soon as they turned around, Karl had his rifle pointed at them.

Leon immediately dropped his gun and raised his hands high over his head. "W-w-what? Karl!? W-why are you--"

"Quiet!" Karl snapped. His grip on the rifle was tight, but shaky. "D-don't move!" he stammered. "I... I--"

"Pick up your weapon, Leon." Voice commanded. "Aim at the Karl Wesson and fire."

"F-fire!?"

"No questions. Pick up your weapon now."

Karl's finger twitched against the trigger of his rifle as he watched Leon lower his hands and recover his gun.

"Aim your weapon at the Karl Wesson now."

Leon did as he was told.

"Fire now."

Leon hesitated just as much as Karl. The two stared at each other, fearful of who would make the first strike.

"Do not be intimidated." Voice said. "The Karl Wesson's rifle contains a blank round."

That was it. Karl dropped his gun and sank to the floor. "L-Leon..." he shuddered, "You won't..."

"...I won't..." Leon echoed, and began to lower his gun.

"What are you doing, Leon?" Voice sounded shocked. "Aim your weapon at the Karl Wesson, and fire, now."

"I-- I--"

"Do not disobey, Leon. Fire. Now."

"B-but he's..."

"You have ten seconds, Leon. Nine."

His grip on the gun shook more and more. If he fired, he was likely to miss.

"Eight."

Leona gripped Leon's shoulders and whispered to him.

"Four."

"...K-Karl! Get up! We're getting out of here!"

"Thr--Where are you going? You are disobeying!"

Karl stumbled to his feet and bolted out the door behind Leon and Leona. All of them left their guns behind and dashed to the front door of the Poke Mart. The glass door remained shut in front of them.

"You should not disobey!" Voice bellowed over the PA system. "Return to the armory and resume the dramatic standoff situation immediately! I will reset your timer for you. Ten!"

Leon and Leona smashed into the door with all their might, but it was no ordinary glass. At least, not anymore. It had been changed into something else.

"Nine!"

Karl rushed back into the armory and returned with a crowbar, and tossed it to Leona. "Use this!"

"Five--Hey!"

Leona caught the crowbar and slammed it into the door, shattering the door to pieces. Outside, heavy snow was now plummeting down from a near-midnight sky. The three stumbled through the shattered door into the blizzard, and a cloud of winter-clad police faded into view.

"There!" several of them pointed. "Freeze! And drop your pokemon!"

Leona had been carrying all of the pokemon she and Leon had withdrawn from the PC. She reached for her belt, but pulled one ball off and threw it forward.

"Fearow!!" she called.

The Fearow burst out from the Ultra Ball, but the police did not react to its presence. Everything seemed to stand still for a moment, until the Fearow turned an angry eye to Leon and Leona. It turned and drilled its beak at them, but they dove to the side, into the snow, in the nick of time. The police behind it began to chase them.

Without time to question, Leon and Leona scrambled to their feet and plodded through the deep snow back to the house, with the Fearow and police in pursuit. As they approached, the Fearow looped into the air for a second dive. It spun its body into a drill as it sliced through the falling snow and smashed its beak through the front door just before Leon and Leona could reach it.

Leona panicked for a moment, then pointed to the window just next to it. "There!" She shattered it with the crowbar and climbed in. The Fearow's head was on the inside of the door, flailing about and trying to peck and bite her as she climbed in. She dealt it several blows until it retreated, and then helped Leon climb through the broken window.

Once inside, Leon dragged the front room's coffee table toward the window and stood it up to block the police. Leona locked the door, and Leon stacked two card tables up against where the Fearow's head had broken in. The noise of the police and enraged Fearow continued.

Leon and Leona collapsed against the barricaded door, panting. "...Wait, Karl!" Leon panicked. "W-we forgot Karl!"

"The Karl Wesson has been deleted for his disobedience." said Voice, speaking through Leon's computer. "You and the Leona Evans are pending deletion as well. Please wait."

Leona turned to Leon, and leaned on his shoulder. "You..." she murmured to Leon's computer, "How could you...!"

"No questions." Voice replied. "Please remain still and await your deletion. Goodbye."

The Fearow slammed into the window, knocking the coffee table across the room. Its head was bleeding from the crowbar, but it did not seem to acknowledge its own wounds. It began to pound the walls around the window with its wings, and could nearly squeeze its shoulders into the house.

"Do not resist." said Voice. "Your deletion will be executed quickly after these conflicting algorithms are resolved. Error code: A-113. Survival will not be tolerated. Please exit the house with your hands high."

Leona flailed the crowbar back and forth at the Fearow, hitting harder and harder with each strike. But soon the bird caught the weapon inside its beak and began to tug it out of Leona's grip.

"There is no such thing as survival. Exit the house now."

"L-Leon, help!"

Leon snatched one of the skis from the wall on the other side of the room and stormed over to his computer. He raised it high above his head.

"Error code: F-771. Ohhhh dear." Voice stammered.

"No one deletes MY friend..." Leon growled. "And you're NOT gonna delete US!"

"What are you doing? Stop it! I--I...I-i-i-i-i-i..."

Leon struck the computer with the ski again and again. He started jabbing it with the sharp end and stomped it into the floor, then smashed it again until the ski broke in two. The lights in the house began to flicker and spark, and the Fearow recoiled and shrieked. A loud sound, like a thunderclap right there in the room, shattered the noise of the Fearow, the police, and the blizzard. Everything went black and silent.

"...Weeeee are pleased that you have made it through the final challenge, where we pretended we were going to murder you."