Prologue
Trauma
Inspector Navel, while checking the rose placed in his front pocket, stepped out of his car. As his feet clattered against the stone pathway leading up to his partner's house, a young girl with long brown hair and bright, shining green eyes came out to greet him.
"Little Guy!" She said, running up and giving him a big hug. Behind her, a black cat followed and delivered a polite meow before nuzzling against the girl's legs.
Navel laughed, as it seemed Dr. Kimishima's daughter, Alyssa, had picked up on his nickname. Giving a squeeze in return, he asks,
"Hey, Alyssa. Shouldn't Miss Kimishima have put you to bed by now?"
A drop of sadness washed over Alyssa's face.
"Naomi hasn't come home from work. She was supposed to make us some curry tonight! I've gotten pretty hungry. Do you think she's at the store getting ingredients?"
"I'm sure she is, Alyssa. Here, I'll call her right now and see what she's up to." Navel pulled out his cell phone and dialed Naomi's number. The phone rang, and rang, and rang. A bead of sweat formed on his forehead as the call suddenly stopped. No voicemail, no error message. The call ended as if it never happened.
Keeping his composure, he tried calling the institute where Naomi worked. Once again, nothing.
Navel took a deep breath and turned to Alyssa. He said,
"You know what? I'll go pick her up myself. You just go inside and wait, alright?"
"Okay, Little Guy," Alyssa said, scampering back inside the house with her kitten in tow. Little Guy climbed back into his car and rocketed down the road towards CIFM, where Naomi Kimishima worked.
He parked his car outside the building and hurried towards Naomi's office. As he stepped through the doorway, he felt sudden strong dizziness. He fought the feeling and pushed towards his partner's office. He stood on the edge of consciousness.
As he reached for the door to Dr. Kimishima's office, Little Guy blacked out completely.
--
When Little Guy awoke, he found himself lying next to Dr. Kimishima. He reached over and gently shook her awake.
Crystal blue eyes fluttered open. They held their gaze on Navel, locking with his own, before darting around the room around them. Arms followed after, pushing Naomi's body up off the floor. Hands ran through her messy hair as the brilliant mind beneath sifted through the data to be found within the glass box.
Naomi Kimishima stood up and proceeded to help Little Guy to his feet as well.
Dusting off her black and red suit, she said to Navel.
"Well, Little Guy, it looks like we're not in Portland anymore. We're also not the only ones to be whisked away from their homes."
"You're right. However, this place isn't exactly a wonderful world of fantasy. With all these scientists here and the way they have human beings caged up, it almost reminds me of..."
"How about we don't discuss that, Little Guy. You remember our promise," Naomi said curtly. Navel uttered a small apology before she continued,
"I do see some similarities, however. Scientists with high regard for their field and low regard for morality. Except this time, we're the ones behind glass. Let's hope we don't wind up under the knife."
"Exactly. What do you think we should do, for now, Dr. Kimishima?"
With a sly, yet caring, smile, Naomi says,
"Make friends, Little Guy. If we're going to be trapped here, we might as well meet others and learn as much as we can. Perhaps there's something we can learn, maybe a pattern, in those who were brought here with us."
With that, the doctor and the agent went their separate ways within the confines of the glass box.
--
Naomi, hearing Zerberus's shouting and threats, walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder in order to keep him from charging right at the glass wall and hurting himself or others.
"Take some advice: Fighting groups like this is difficult. Charging at them head-on will most likely end with you getting hurt. Wait until someone can at least find a way out of this box."
She let go of Zerberus. She worried that her tone was too harsh. She didn't know exactly how old he was, but she assumed he was younger than eighteen and probably a child.
Taking a gentler approach, she said,
"I've fought against people like this before. It's not something you want to do alone. So, how about we don't do it alone,"
"I'm Naomi. Might I have your name?"
--
Being a fan of music, Little Guy was drawn to the song that came from the musical Pokémon. Entranced by the music, he walked over near her and found himself humming along subconsciously to the tune.
He wished that he had his guitar, but unfortunately nobody had tools of any sort with them inside the glass cage.