•Kanto Ops HQ, Viridian City, Kanto•
•March 11th, Morning•
•Amber (Wolfe Alias Age 19) POV•
Chapter One
It was still the aftermath period after our big fight where I brazenly revealed my identity to the one person who would never believe me; what had occurred previously was definitely a sign that things were getting way out of hand, and I had realized I needed to think things through ever since. The last big fight between me and my ex-best friend, Silver, kept me quiet pretty much the rest of that day, and I spent the entire next day favoring my ribs even after we lost that tag battle that sealed our fate, but the pain was getting a bit more and more tolerable even without the pain meds. I had to admit, I was really on the road to recovery after being shot while saving my friend, Dex.
Silver was actually behaved ever since our tag battle, too. It felt nice not having to butt heads for once with him. The day that followed was pretty much the same. Silver was as attentive as ever, making certain he didn't slack off so Darrius, my boss, wouldn't lock him back into a cell.
The two of us seemed to drop into a routine: he'd wheel me around for meals, I'd sleep here and there, he'd do his own thing, I'd do my own—which really wasn't much since I stayed in bed often. Neither of us really talked to each other more than was necessary, which suited me fine since it meant less of an opportunity for us to break out into another fight.
By the fifth day of that routine, I was very stricken with cabin fever. I almost didn't feel any pain any more unless I stressed my body, and without Silver's knowledge, I had taken to pacing around my room. I still was a bit slow, but I could walk without really limping, and it wasn't excruciatingly painful. Still, I wasn't all that satisfied with being cooped up in my quarters more than that.
At times, I let my Pokémon out to keep me company, which helped my attitude. I still hadn't let Speckle, my shiny Lapras, out yet since I wasn't near any water source, but I figured I'd get an opportunity at some point to talk with her about releasing her to the wild to be with her own kind in Johto.
Halfway through the day, as I paced about my room, Silver barged in and glared at me. "What are you doing out of bed?" He didn't seem exactly enthused that I wasn't listening to his orders.
"Stretching my legs; I'm bored," I replied in a pretty apathetic tone.
At that, Silver sighed. "You're stubborn; that's what you are."
"I can't help it if I have cabin fever," I replied simply shrugging my shoulders.
He glared at me. His crimson eyes seemed to bore into my own as if to make whatever he was about to say clear. "Unless you really want to go do that challenge thing or whatever when you're still not fully recovered, I'd get back in bed if I were you."
I smirked. "And what if I want to get that challenge thing out of the way? It's better than being holed up in bed. I've been like this for far too long. At this rate, I won't just feel like an invalid but turn into one as well."
It was true; the longer I stayed in bed, the less in shape I'd become. I wanted to remain fit, after all.
Silver smirked back and shook his head. "There's no point even talking to you when you're like this. Fine. I'll go tell Darrius that you think you're up to the challenge. Wait here, understood?" His tone was almost condescending, as if he were addressing a belligerent child.
"Fine, fine. Hurry up. Before I die of boredom," I crawled back into bed as my redheaded ex-best friend left the room. He left the door ajar a little. I heard as he closed the door of our quarters behind him.
I wonder what the living room looks like today…
Out of curiosity, I climbed out of bed and walked to the living room. I disregarded my pile of papers and books that Silver had placed in the corner of my own room. The living room looked very neat—very tidy. It looked organized.
Should've figured he'd clean this place up like that.
I sat down on the sofa and switched on the TV. It was on the news. I sat and disinterestedly watched until Silver and Darrius both returned.
"So, Silver tells me you're ready to get the challenge over with?" Darrius asked from behind me. His voice hinted at amusement.
I didn't even look back at him. "Yeah. Let's get it over with." I replied in an unenthused tone.
Darrius chuckled. "I'm surprised you managed to keep her down this long, Silver. Though, I suppose I will check your wounds first to make certain I'm not sending you to your death. Understood, Agent?" He said to Silver and then to myself.
"Yeah, yeah. I figured as much." I rolled my eyes at the tall man with the blonde military buzz cut standing behind me.
"Alright, your room. This will only take a few minutes," Darrius replied to Silver. I got up and went to my room; Darrius followed.
"Okay, get it over with, D." I replied as I relaxed myself and willed myself to not feel any pain whatsoever.
D lifted the bottom of my shirt where my lower ribs were bandaged. He undid the bandages. My skin felt instantly cooler and somewhat damp, if possible.
"Hmm, looks like the bullet wound is healing up nicely. I'd say from the light bruising, your ribs are still a bit sore, right?" He asked mildly.
"Yeah," I admitted.
"Well, I don't think it'll be life-threatening, but you may risk hurting yourself more if you do the challenge now. Are you sure you don't want to wait a bit longer?" Darrius' gruff voice sounded a tad concerned.
"Nah. Get it over with. I know, no Pokémon allowed. I know I've never actually done the challenge before, but it can't be all that bad. I say bring it on, D."
I really didn't see what the whole fuss over "the Challenge" was about, anyway. I was certain I could handle it with no problem—even if I did have to tag along with Silver.
Darrius chuckled and ruffled my blonde hair as he applied a large bandage from his pocket on my bullet wound's scab. "Don't you sound enthused? Just be careful and don't get lost. The Challenge is called a challenge for a reason, you know. The only other person who completed it with no Pokémon was Agent G, but since you are G's rank, I don't think it'll be a problem. Be swift, teach Silver along the way, and never let your guard down. You two need to be a team more than ever for this."
I stared at Darrius. "Alright, I gotcha. I'll try to behave for once, alright?" I grinned.
"Alright. I have faith in you. Let's all go to the start of the challenge, then." He seemed very composed, though I could tell he meant every word he said as his azure eyes met my own.
With that, we met up with Silver in the living room, who had turned the TV off and was just sitting in silence. We then all made our way to the underground stadium. From there, Darrius opened a locked door that I had disregarded before. It led to an empty room that was no bigger than a broom closet that held another door.
I stared at Darrius. "So, where's the Challenge?"
"It's just passed that door. Let me explain it to you. It was designed to incorporate your skills as an Op. It's filled with trials and dangerous situations. You both will have to work as a team for this; otherwise, you'll fail." My boss began.
"Let me explain the layout of this place for you. It's somewhat of a maze. It's built underneath the entire city of Viridian. Also, it has been expanded to go underneath the Viridian Forest. Your destination is the other side, which ends up at the entrance of Pewter City." He continued.
"It will probably take you days to find your way out. There are wild Pokémon inside. Some are weak; others are high level. It's a man-made ecosystem in there, but don't let it fool you. Everything there is real—including the danger. You fail if either of you are critically injured, one of you die, you become hopelessly lost, or if one of you arrives at the destination without the other. Understood?" Darrius ended his explanation.
I was having a hard time taking all of that in. "So, you're saying we have to find the end of the maze? That's it?"
"That's the gist of it, though it's harder than you think. Well, if you don't have any more questions, are you ready to start?" Darrius seemed ready to throw us in.
"What do we do for food and water?" Asked Silver sensibly.
"You've got to be resourceful. I'm sure you'll find out how to handle that problem. Anything else?" Darrius asked with one hand on the door's knob.
"I'm ready when you are, Silv," I replied as I nodded.
Silver looked at me and then at Darrius. "Fine. I suppose I'm ready, too."
Darrius then opened the door and pushed us out. "Good luck!" He slammed it behind us, and I heard it lock.
I marveled at the world in front of us. Never had I known such a place could exist underground of all places. It looked to be a tropical forest. There were dozens of tall trees, a raging waterfall in the distance, a somewhat wide stream nearby, and various sounds of wild Pokémon and wildlife.
"Wow! I didn't know they could make this underground!" I exclaimed in pure awe.
"It is pretty impressive," Silver commented with a nod. "Let's go."
"Right. But where to?" I looked at him wondering if he already had an idea of what to do.
"From what I understand, I bet we are close to the southern entrance of Viridian City, which means we need to make our way ultimately north if we want to get to Pewter City. I say follow the stream." He suggested.
"I guess that's a good idea." I agreed.
We walked along silently by the stream until we approached the raging waterfall from a distance. It crashed down on some rocks with a crazy potent force.
"So now what?" I asked over the roar of the water.
"Hm, well, we could try to climb our way up and follow the waterfall from there. Or we could walk into the forest. I'm not certain what we should do..." He seemed to be taking everything in stride, his mind probably already a few steps ahead of my own.
I sat down on a nearby rock and sighed. "Maybe we should look for food. I don't know if we'll be in a forest forever, after all."
I was certain we didn't have the same priorities in mind, but hey, I didn't feel like starving or anything.
"Hey, Wolfe, what's up with that rock you're sitting on?" He totally deflected my question.
"What do you mean?" I asked a bit annoyed.
"It looks like there's an inscription on it. It appears to be too smooth on top to be coincidental. Get up for a minute."
I glared. "Fine."
I did and noticed that I had, in fact, been sitting on words. "Hmm, interesting," said Silver pensively as he approached.
I read the words aloud: "Greetings those who take upon this challenge. You will receive clues to guide you in your journey. Be warned: this trial will test your wits and skills. In this challenge, you will brave the fierce jungle, traverse the open plains, climb tall mountains, brave a harsh wasteland, and endure the remains of an urban environment. In each area, you'll receive five clues, which will point you in the way to go. If you leave an area without finding all five clues, be warned. It is a false sense of accomplishment. You will be trapped in this maze if you do not heed the clues carefully. The first clue can be located behind the waterfall's wrath. Take heed and to you the best of luck."
"Hmm, I see. Five ecosystems that hold five clues each. I can assume the rock says them in order, so we need to find the plains so we can get to the mountains. I don't get how they'd have mountains underground, but I guess we can worry about that later. The first clue is behind the waterfall, but I don't see a cave or anything…" Silver speculated.
"I guess we'll just have to find out the hard way," I replied as I began to limp off into the water.
"Wolfe! Where are you going?!" He sounded pretty startled, like my behavior came as a surprise.
"Find the clue. Duh." I said as the water began to reach my thighs.
I noticed we couldn't get closer to the waterfall from this side of the stream since a thick patch of brush blocked it. I figured it only natural to swim across and try from the other side.
"Don't you think it's dangerous just waltzing into the water like that?" His tone was more condescending than worrisome.
"Nah. I'm sure it's fine." I got to the point where I had to swim.
It seemed to be a deep pool centered between some spaced rocks. The waterfall was only about twenty yards away. I continued swimming until Silver yelled at me.
"Wolfe! Stop!" I looked at him, and he seemed paler than usual.
"What's your problem? I'm almost there!" I was over halfway to the other bank.
"Look around you! Dark figures in the water!" He seemed actually concerned for once.
I looked around me to see shapes moving deep in the water. I could only see three outlines, but they appeared to be somewhat nice-sized fish. They were circling me. I gulped in panic.
Something sandpapery slit my leg, and I felt a surge of pain and fear. Before I knew what happened, Silver jumped into the water after me. The figures circling me appeared to pay him no mind. He caught up with me and pulled my arm as he swam to the opposite shore.
Before we made it, another, larger figure appeared in front of us. An ominous triangular fin protruded out of the water. "Shit… Is that…a Sharpedo?!" I asked in a panicked voice.
"Remain calm. Just get to shore. Hurry," Silver pushed me passed the shark Pokémon that was underwater.
I grabbed hold of him and actually threw him across me onto shore even if it hurt my still somewhat sore ribs. As I climbed onto shore, a gnashing of teeth just barely missed my hand. It was definitely a Sharpedo, all right. The shark Pokémon's red eyes glared at us from the water. Surfacing to the right and left of the shark were what I guessed to be Carvahna, the piranha Pokémon and the pre-evolved form of the shark that just tried eating us.
I looked at Silver, who was panting; he then glared at me. "You almost got us killed with your impatience and heedless behavior!" He scolded. He did not look happy, needless to say.
"I'm sorry, alright? I didn't know that there were man-eating Pokémon in there!" I yelled back.
I felt myself get defensive once again, even though I knew that I really did deserve a good scolding for almost getting us eaten.
"Darrius warned us, idiot. Man, I swear if I have to save your ass for the entire challenge, I might as well just go on without you." I could tell that was not an empty threat.
I glared at him. "Well if that's how you feel, fine. I'll find my own way by myself. I'm sure I can figure out the clues without your lousy help."
Even though I didn't really want to get into another fight, I couldn't help myself as my temper got the best of me.
"If my help is so lousy, then why are you still alive right now, huh?" He shot back with an angry glare.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as I lay down. My clothes were soaking wet; I was certain that the sharp scales of the Carvahna had slightly cut my leg, and it was only the start of the challenge. I needed to get a hold of my emotions before I caused any more problems.
"Now what's your problem? If it's your ribs, I told you that you should wait to heal. Not like you listen to me." He complained again; his voice still showed he was angry.
"Look, that's not it. I'm sorry, all right? Let's not fight in here. We need to work together to get through this. I take back all my rude comments. Truce?" I let the anger drain out of my voice as I cracked an eye open at him.
He was sitting up. He was just as drenched as I was, and he looked annoyed. "Hmph. Change of attitude, huh?" He seemed caught a little off guard.
"Yes, change of attitude. I want to get out of here, damn it. So, truce?" I extended my hand to him after I sat up.
He surprised me by taking it. "Fine, but don't do something stupid like that again, okay? Let's talk about our options before either of us make decisions. Got it?"
"Fine, whatever. You can be the leader if that's what you're getting at." If he wanted to be the brains of the operation, I'd actually let him. I knew deep down he was quite intelligent and had more common sense than me, anyway.
Silver just smirked as he stood up. He actually helped me to my feet, which surprised me yet again. I winced a little at my leg.
"Your leg's bleeding. Are you sure you can walk?" He seemed just the slightest bit concerned as he glanced down where my pants were slit and blood was somewhat soaking through.
I glared at him. "Yes, I'm sure. It's just a small wound. It'll stop in no time. So, what now?" I had changed the subject.
"We continue to the waterfall by foot. We'll have to climb those rocks at the bottom, apparently. Anyway, let's get there and see what we should do next." He took charge, and immediately I could see his attitude shift to a more compliant one.
The Challenge had only just begun...
***************
The entirety of chapter one will be posted when Wolfe II: The Challenge and the Lie officially releases on Monday, July 13 2026!
Link to the novel will be posted below upon release.
New chapters will be posted daily for release week and then every Tuesday and Friday unless stated otherwise.
Thank you for reading Wolfe I!
Hope to see you for book two!