Roland opened his eyes to bright fluorescent lighting. The intermittent beeping of medical equipment echoed faintly in the background, and the feeling of soft sheets pressed in around his body. He sat up slowly, feeling a little dizzy and more than a little confused. His limbs ached as though he'd been in a triathlon and he felt incredibly weary, even after his unintended nap. "Huh? Where am I?" he wondered quietly, looking around. Roland noted that he was in a small room. The walls were the same metal he'd seen in the Black League HQ, and lighting was provided by small fluorescent tubes built into the walls and shielded by thin metal gratings. A metal-framed doorway opened out into some kind of corridor, but he couldn't see much past the shower-curtain-esque drapes that hung from the top of the frame. To his left was some complicated-looking medical equipment, the source of the beeping. All of it was highly reminiscent of a hospital - a very metallic one, but a hospital nonetheless.

At that point, his mind began to clear from the haze of sleep and he remembered his last moments of consciousness. "Oh right!" Roland thought, worry rising in his mind, "I was watching Demi battle, and then the Scyther..." his hand went to his throat, feeling the presence of some sort of bandage stuck there. Not willing to risk injuring himself by removing it, Roland left it alone. What had happened next? "Oh yeah," he thought, memories flooding back, "We won... but that girl cheated and then the next thing I know there's soldiers everywhere. I remember that someone put the Scyther to sleep, but I was too weak to do much other than huddle for warmth. And now... I'm here." Roland looked around the room again, feeling more and more confused. "Where AM I? More importantly, where's Demi?"

To his right was a small table, and on it he saw his possessions. His clothes were bundled neatly on the top of it, and his watch, cellphone, wallet and keys lay on top of it. "Everything seems to be here..." Roland said, checking all his money and cards were still in the wallet. They were. "Huh," Roland said, trying to figure it out, "Well if I am a prisoner, they sure didn't imprison me very well..." A flash of black material caught his eye, and he looked down. To his surprise, Roland discovered that he had been clothed in the traditional Black League uniform. His top was the same kind of biking shirt that he'd seen the girls wearing - tight black, stretchy material with short sleeves that somehow managed to moderate body heat despite how thin it was. He frowned, eyeing the small gut bulge that he had developed from all those hours of study and junk food, all of which was highlighted by the clothing. "THAT will have to go.." he muttered to himself, sliding the sheets off of his legs and swinging his feet over the side of the bed.

From his sitting position, he could see that he was wearing the "biker" shorts of the Black League too... and that they might as well have been sculpted to his body for all the cover they provided. He could see every detail of his own manhood, and that meant anyone else who was looking could too. Blushing, he quickly reached for his clothing, intending to change before anyone wandered in and saw him wearing such a thing. His hands were at the waist of the shorts when he heard footsteps headed his way, and so instead he quickly grabbed his jeans and shoved them on over the Black League shorts, only just managing to zip up his fly before an attractive-looking nurse pushed aside the curtain and stepped into his small room.

"Oh my, you're awake!" she exclaimed, eyes trailing to where Roland's hands still rested on his fly button. She looked flustered. "Oh, um, did I interrupt something? I'll just wait outside." Roland sighed, watching the shapely nurse retreat behind the curtain again, looking embarrassed. "I was just putting on my old clothes is all," he called after a minute, shrugging his baggy and less revealing shirt on. "You can come back in, you know."
A pair of hazel eyes peeked around the curtain, the nurse apparently double-checking in case he was lying and was in fact totally naked and dancing the macarena. Seeing Roland fully clothed, she slipped in again, bowing apologetically to him as she stood against the curtain. "I must apologise," she said, eyes on the floor, "We weren't expecting you to awaken so soon." Roland glanced at her curiously, trying to keep his eyes on her face and the red curls that hung from beneath her nursing hat, rather than the rest of her body. "An erection in this clothing would spell disaster," he thought.

"So um... how long have I been out?" Roland asked, trying to keep the slight edge of worry out of his tone. The nurse lifted a clipboard she'd been carrying at her side and examined it. "You were brought in at around 6:30PM, and it's 9:30PM now, so you've been unconscious for about two and a half hours, taking into account the length of the trip here." Roland breathed a slight sigh of relief - he'd been expecting to have slept an entire day or even a week! "I've been watching too many movies..." he chided himself quietly. The nurse continued, clearly eager to be able to provide information. "You were rescued by Commander James Merian and Lieutenant Skye Anderson, who are in charge of dealing with Black League rule breakers," she read out loud, as though it all made perfect sense to an outsider.

She looked up at him and seemed slightly put off that, if anything, Roland looked even more confused than before. "Er, how are you feeling?" she asked, changing the subject. Roland flexed his arm muscles a little and stretched. "Hmm, a little dizzy and a bit sore, actually." he commented, rubbing the spot where his bicep had twinged painfully. The nurse nodded seriously and eyed him carefully, apparently checking for anything visibly critical about his condition. She pulled out her clipboard and took a quick note before speaking.


"I suggest you go back to bed, sir. The commander has requested to meet with you, but that should wait until you have recovered." she stated, tapping her pen against the clipboard to accentuate her points. "Your afflictions were not serious, but you shouldn't push yourself. Go lie down and I'll get another nurse to bring you a meal, if you'd like."
Roland shook his head, though the meal idea made his stomach growl audibly. Straightening his shoulders against the tiredness he felt, he held up two fingers and counted off of them as he spoke. "Two things: Firstly, I'm not resting until I know my Pokemon is ok, and secondly, I have a LOT of questions that need answers. Once I'm satisfied that Demi is ok and everything is taken care of I'll relax. But not before then."

The nurse nodded respectfully, causing various body parts to jiggle enticingly as Roland averted his eyes as subtly as he could. "I understand," she replied sympathetically, clipboard returning to her side, "I'll go inform the commander that you are ready for him. I'm sure he can answer any questions you may have."
"And Demi?" Roland interjected.
The nurse smiled, almost in amusement. "If you mean your Lucario, he is still resting in the rejuvenator, but he should be revived and healthy within the hour. Until then, please wait here. I know it may be hard to wait right now, but in your current condition resting is by far the best option. I promise that everything is being taken care of to the best of our ability." Not waiting for a reply, she turned on her heel and strode off, whilst Roland sank back onto the bed with a sigh. "She's probably right," he admitted to himself once her footsteps had faded, "I can barely keep my eyes open even now..."

A few minutes later, the soft clicking of heels on tile heralded the return of the nurse to his room. Roland was sitting on the bed with his head in his hands, as though very depressed. The nurse knocked quietly on the wall to get his attention, and Roland looked up in semi-surprise. After he'd finished donning his socks and shoes, he'd been holding his eyelids apart with his fingers in an attempt to stay awake, and remained doing so for a moment as they stared at each other in awkward silence. Suddenly, the realization of what he was doing caught up to him and Roland removed his hands quickly, embarrassed. "Uhh... sorry about that, I was trying to keep-" Roland trailed off as the nurse waved a hand, shaking her head to cut off his explanation. "N-no, sir, it's fine, really!" she said reassuringly, shaking slightly in what Roland suspected was an attempt at suppressing a fit of giggles, "You must be very tired. D-don't worry about that now, just follow me. The commander is ready to see you!"

Gathering the remainder of his belongings and bundling the rest of his clothes under his arm, Roland followed the still-smiling nurse silently, taking in his surroundings as he went. They walked down a corridor exactly like the ones in the Black League HQ. The only difference was that, instead of a training room, every door was a curtained-off medical room like his had been. Eventually, the corridor gave way into a large dome-shaped room with several passageways leading off in different directions, similar to the ones he'd seen in the Black League HQ. Roland wondered why everything the Black League did was circular, and then almost bumped into the nurse as she stopped abruptly.

She turned to him then, smiling warmly as she gestured around the various entrances. It seemed to Roland that the incident in his hospital room - for he was sure that it actually was a hospital now - had broken the ice with the nurse somewhat. Now she spoke, her tone a little less formal and more personal than before. "These doorways here lead off to various other parts of the Black League Medical Facility," she commented, gesturing to several of the passages. "And this doorway leads back to the Black League HQ, which you may or may not have seen," she added. Roland nodded, pointing to the doorway she had just indicated. "Yeah, I had a training match with someone in there. It didn't go so well," he ended flatly, feeling slightly ashamed.

The nurse didn't seem to be affected by his dour mood, still smiling warmly. "Well, keep your chin up, sir," she said brightly, a mischievous twinkle in her eye, "I'm sure things will change for the better soon!" Roland tilted his head, wondering if the nurse knew something he didn't. Then he realized how stupid that thought was - of COURSE she knew stuff he didn't, SHE worked here and just 20 minutes ago HE had woken up in an unfamiliar bed! The nurse pointed to the final passageway, continuing his orientation. "And this place," she said, "Is where we'll be going. It's the Barracks, and Commander Merian is waiting for you in there. I'm sure you're itching for some exposition on everything that's just happened!" Roland only nodded, other thoughts pushed aside as he remembered that things were far from over yet.

They passed through the door (which was marked with big red and black warning signs declaring "STAFF ONLY PAST THIS POINT") and into the hallway beyond. Unlike the rest of the Black League buildings, the barracks seemed more normal. The hallways were the usual rectangular shape, and everything seemed reinforced and designed to army regulations. Directions to specific locations were clearly marked, and armed guards stood at various points, some accompanied by tough-looking Pokemon. "Yup," Roland thought anxiously, "This is faaaaaar from over..."
The nurse approached a burly man who promptly stood to attention and waved pleasantly at the nurse as she came closer. She held up her ID card for him, and he scanned it into a small computer that was built into the door. A green "ACCESS GRANTED" message flashed across the screen, and the sliding doors behind him slid quietly open. "Nice to see you, Mara. Who's your new boyfriend?" asked the man jokingly, nodding to Roland. The nurse chuckled, winking at Roland, and then turned to the man. "Oh he's a bit young for me, I'm afraid! This is the young man that Commander Merian wanted to see, Alex. Try not to intimidate him with that brutish mug of yours!" she chided mockingly, and the man laughed.

To Roland's surprise, Alex then turned an impressed gaze onto him and whistled lowly in appreciation. "We in the base heard all about your fight with those rule-breakers!" Alex enthused, nodding approvingly. "You were really impressive!"
Roland blinked at the man, opening his mouth to form the question of how anyone knew about the fight, but the nurse grabbed his hand and pulled him through the door after her. "You'll have to catch up later, Alex, we have an appointment to get to!" she called over her shoulder as Alex chuckled and waved. "Ok then!" he shouted back as they rounded a corner, "Just make sure and bring him back in one piece!" Once they were out of earshot of the army guy, she released Roland's hand and slowed her pace a little. "Sorry about that," she said, apologetically, "If I hadn't pulled you away from there he'd have kept you there for hours talking. Alex is a real chatterbox!". With a twinge of jealously, Roland noted an undertone of affection in her voice. "Darn," he thought, "There goes my chance with the hot nurse!"

"Oh well," thought Roland to himself, "Easy come, easy go." They walked on in silence for a little bit, and then Roland spoke up. "Um... Can I ask you a question?" he asked hesitantly, not wanting to ruin the rapport he had built with the nurse so far. She looked back at him. "Sure, shoot."
"So... How old ARE you?"
The nurse stared at him for a moment and then broke out into a fit of laughter. "Ahahaha! Oh my, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to insult you back there or anything!"
Roland shifted uncomfortably. "Uh, well you didn't really, I just thought you were.. you know, kinda my age or something..." Her laughter slowed a little and she beamed at him mischievously. "Well... I happen to be 28, and you're 20, correct?" Roland nodded.
"Well eight years can be quite a difference, you know." she finished, still smiling. Roland shrugged as nonchalantly as he could manage.
"I guess so."

Mara looked up and pointed to a door nearby. "That's the commander's quarters." she said, changing subject suddenly, "I should really take you in so he's not waiting too long. Commander Merian is a nice guy, but he doesn't appreciate being kept waiting for long periods of time."
Roland nodded again. "Ok."
They proceeded to the door, which Mara knocked on sharply. An eye-slot in the door opened and a pair of calculating brown eyes sized them up for a moment before the door closed again and several bolts could be heard being withdrawn from the door. Then, the door scraped open, and a warm yellow light flooded the hallway. The man who had opened the door ushered them in, securing it shut behind them as they approached a table in the center of the room.

Behind the table sat an apparently middle-aged man with unusually blue eyes. He wore the traditional Black League uniform, though over it he also wore several sets of interlocking body armor, which formed almost an exoskeleton over his torso and limbs. Even with this covering, it was easy to see that the man was fit and well-muscled, something to be expected of an ex-soldier. His short hair was black, with slight streaks of grey, and he smiled warmly as Roland and the nurse approached. Mara nodded respectfully. "Commander Merian, Roland is here as you requested. Shall I leave you two be?" The commander nodded seriously, regarding Roland with a calculating look born from years of military training. "Yes thank you, Mara. But please stay nearby in case our guest here needs anything." Mara nodded and the brown-eyed man let her out silently. Roland stood uncomfortably in front of the desk, wondering just what was going on.

Once Mara was safely out, Commander Merian gestured to one of the several guards in the room to bring a comfortable chair for Roland, which he gratefully sank into. "So Mr..." Merian checked some notes he had at his desk, "Freewind! How has your short stay at the Black League HQ been? I trust you were looked after properly?" Roland was slightly confused that this stern-looking commander was making small talk, but he decided to play along until he had the situation sussed out. "Um, fine." he replied, his hand unconsciously going to the bandage at his throat, "But why am I here, and what happened to those girls in the forest?" Commander Merian nodded, stretching his legs and standing slowly before pacing the room a little as he spoke. "Ah yes," he began, a frown creasing his features, "You were the unfortunate victim of part of a group of people who have been abusing the Black League system for their own gains for some time now. We've been tracking their actions for quite a while, and thanks to your battle we were able to take those girls by surprise and arrest them."

Roland looked confused, "Wait, I thought the Black League rules were heavily enforced by you guys. How come you have entire groups of people breaking them?" Merian nodded, still pacing. "Well, the Black League has grown from a humble back-street arena into an organization that spans continents, and as you know, corruption spreads like a plague. It's extremely difficult for even the most well-trained officials to ensure that everything is done fairly and with prudence." Roland leaned back, letting out a soft sigh. "So basically, these girls were just out to pick on me, and you guys showed up to crash their party?" Commander Merian nodded, and Roland continued.
"Great. And here I was thinking that the Black League was my ticket to fame, not some corporation desperately trying to hold itself together..." Merian stopped, running his fingers through his hair briefly. "I can understand your point of view, Roland. You've been introduced to the Black League in the worst way possible, and you have every right to feel upset and used."

He continued, "But I don't want you to feel disheartened by this. We owe you a lot of apologies for not looking after a potential member properly, and we want to make it up to you."
Roland looked up bleakly. "How?"
Merian fished in one of his pockets, and brought out a small card. "A few ways. Firstly, I went ahead and had a Black League license printed for you." He handed it to Roland, who accepted it silently, turning it over in his hands. "Rank B?" he asked, somewhat surprised, "I thought people started off in Rank D..." Commander Merian nodded, gesturing to the card. "You're right, but after your experiences one could hardly mistake you for a beginner. Remember, your battles are all recorded, and we took the time to go over the two you've been in since you were introduced to the league. Your battling skills are exceptional, and as such there is no need to lump you in with the beginners. You'd mop the floor with them!" Merian grinned, and Roland had to admit that he felt a little better about all of his and Demi's efforts not going to waste.

"Ok so I have a license now, but if what you tell me is true, then I also have no real idea how any of this is supposed to work." Roland said, looking up to Merian. "There's no way I can compete in the Black League as things are now!"
Commander Merian nodded sympathetically, moving once more to take a seat behind his desk. "Yes, that is the other thing we want to help you with. I've organized for someone to teach you everything you need to know about the Black League - the official rules, mind you - and we're footing the bill of both these lessons and your membership. You don't have to pay for anything. Does that sound like an adequate apology to you?"
Roland considered for a minute. This really did seem like an excellent opportunity to really get his and Demi's dream going, but after all the hassle they'd been through already, was it really worth it?

Roland though for a moment. "I... I can't decide right now," he replied finally. "Besides, I need to discuss this with my Pokemon as well, and I haven't seen him since that battle. Can I go see him now?"
Commander Merian smiled and nodded. "Of course. Take your time deciding. When you make up your mind, ask Mara to take you back to me, and I'll help you in any way I can. Is there anything else you want to ask before you go?"
Roland considered, though "Ah, what the heck..." and brought up the one other though in his mind. "What happened to those girls? I know the battle was a sham, but they were really going to force me to play along with it."

Commander Merian's face grew serious, and he knitted his brows together in anger. "Those troublemakers have violated some of the Black League's most strict rules. We haven't decided on a punishment for them yet, but they are being held in a cell down here until their hearing in front of the Black League council. Speaking of that, you may be called in as a witness. I was going to burden you with this information later, but since you asked, I guess you may as well know now. You can always refuse, if you want."
Roland nodded seriously. "I'll keep that in mind. For now, I'm ready to go see Demi."
The Commander nodded once more and gestured to the guard by the door, who began unlocking all the door bolts again. "Tell Mara where you want to go, and she'll take you there. Good luck to you, Roland."

"Thanks," replied Roland, mentally adding, "We'll need it."Chapter End Notes:Hey everyone, I'm really sorry it took so long. At the moment, I'm juggling a lot of heavy work and just haven't had time to give Black League the attention it deserves. At long last though, the newest chapter is out. I can't make any promises yet, but I'll do my best to get into a much more regular schedule again ASAP. Again, comments are appreciated