A/N: Part 3 is here. Not much to say really, except that I've certainly got more reviewers/favorite-ers than I would have expected. However, I highly recommend that you look at the other stories in the "Dark Fragments" C2. These stories are even better works, in my opinion, that take place in essentially the same world. So, yeah, check that out when you have a chance. Anyways, onto those review responses.
DarkPokemonLover: Seriously, I don't know why you get so sad over this stuff. I may have the language, but you have the internal knowledge. You work much better insider this realer setting. That's probably why I did have a few things similar as you in the last chapter. Take it as a compliment. And as for the number of page views, well... it was only the first chapter. I'm sure the trend won't continue. At any rate, I'm glad that you still liked it.
swack16: You know, I don't think that I've ever had a review with such strong language in it. I guess it's good that it wasn't directed at me, though. Simon does deserve it however. Also, yes, Sarah has lost a portion of her humanity. It's kind of a hard thing to avoid.
Aggron15: I have to admit, I never thought that anyone would think of Simon as nice. I suppose I could see how one would think that after the first chapter, but it was still a bit of a surprise to hear. Like you said, though, it is made clear by the end of last chapter that he's not so nice. About that 4 out of 5, although I do appreciate it, you never really told me what caused me to lose that point. I hope you'll tell me for this chapter, though a 5 would be hoped for.
Espeon Master: I'm glad that you like the story so much. I'm sure that as it continues you'll be even more interested. I hope so, at least.
Well, that's it. Please review this chapter, too, please. I'd like to see reviews from some of those people who I know are reading this but haven't reviewed yet. Not that you have to or anything. It is a free community after all, but it would be nice. Well, enough from me. Let's get on with the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own pokémon. There are some original characters, though. These are mine. The universe they live in isn't, though. That may or may not belong to Fragmented Disillusionment. You'd have to ask him.
The Lost Eon: Part 3: The Records
The next morning started much too early for Sarah. She would have been content just staying asleep. Part of that was simply instinctual. Despite her deep hatred of being caged, the blanket under her was warm and comfortable. It made her feel safe, allowing her to relax and conserve energy that could then be used when it was actually needed. Not only that, though, she much preferred the dream world to the real world right now. Sure, eevee dreams were less organized than human ones and weren't as much the deep, meaningful looks into the subconscious, but at least she could dismiss them as simply being dreams. This was not a luxury that she could have with her real life.
Even with all this motivation to stay asleep, it was still interrupted by that constant thorn in her paw, reality. As the morning had come, the building she was in had started getting filled with the various scientists employed by Team Rocket. With all those people came a lot of noise, which penetrated into the depths of Sarah's sleep and drew her out of it.
Opening her eyes wearily, she was instantly reminded of her situation by the metallic wire crisscrossing its way in front of her. She sighed, looking out at the room longingly. This would be her life forever, she knew it. Before she could think any further, though, she became distracted. The scent that had been so attracting to her last night drifted its way to her nose again. With a no longer occupied stomach, evidenced by its growls of hunger, the scent was now completely irresistible.
Standing up slowly, she followed the smell. The dishes were in a corner of the cage where the blanket didn't cover, and having to step on to the wire floor was an act that her paws tolerated with protest. Ignoring the unpleasant sensation, she looked into the two dishes. One was just filled with water, but the other, the one that the good smell was coming from, was filled with bite-sized, reddish-brown chunks of something. Not too appealing to her human mind. However, she couldn't deny the logic that her instincts provided: she was hungry; there was the only food; eat. She followed this instruction, taking one of the chunks into her mouth and chewing. It actually didn't taste that bad, a little like steak in fact. She continued to eat the food, as well as taking a number of laps from the water dish, until she was contently full.
Retreating back to the blanket, Sarah looked out at the room beyond in despair. She wanted so much to get out of this cage, even if the room was really just a larger one. The cage was so limiting, and the wire was only a constant reminder that she was nothing but a prisoner. At least if she was just in the room, she could run around and not feel so restricted. Running, now that she thought of it, appealed to her very much. She wished she could stretch her legs, even if all she did were laps around the room. The more she thought about it, the more anxious and cooped up she felt. Maybe if she was good, Simon would-
Her train of thought came to a sudden halt as she realized what she was thinking. She had wanted to do something fun over her own freedom. In that moment, she didn't care about what happened to her as long as she could still do stuff that made her happy. It was obvious that her thoughts were starting to become more pokémonic, and that was not a good thing for her. It had only been a day, and she was already thinking differently. It frightened her, but it also motivated her. She vowed that she would fight it and resist the instincts that had been forced into her.
Either way, though, she wanted out of that cage. Even with her new pact with herself, she still had feelings of anxiousness, which were only made worse by the sounds and voices that drifted through the walls. Human voices still sounded strange to her, and the muffling effect of the walls served to make them completely incomprehensible. She kept listening, though, hoping that she might pick up on something she knew. In particular, she was listening for her own name, wondering if anyone out there still remembered her. She didn't expect much, though, for she wouldn't have been the first (or the last) mysterious disappearance at Team Rocket, and her fellow coworkers had likely moved on by now. Eventually she gave up, figuring that she may as well have been listening to static.
As the day wore on, her eevee instincts started providing methods to deal with her lack of activity. Often, she would catch herself doing things like digging at her blanket or grooming her fur. It always took her a few moments to even fully realize that she was doing it. When she did, though, she would stop suddenly and go back to just looking outside her cage. Sure, these things were relaxing and made her overall feeling of despair lessen, but they were the actions of a bored pokémon and not an imprisoned human. Every time she did something like that, she had to remind herself that she was still human on the inside and couldn't let this body control her. It wasn't easy, though, and with all the time she spent in there, there were some things that she couldn't help even when she was in control. It was times like those that made her glad no one else was there. She did her best not to think about these things, and her eevee mind happily obliged in turning her attention elsewhere. All in all, it was a long day of struggling against the instincts that she feared would wipe away her humanity.
Eventually, though, as the noise level started decreasing, she once again heard the sound of nearby footsteps walking to the door. Despite feeling tired from the hours of fighting against herself, Sarah perked up and watched the door expectantly. Soon enough, there was a jingle of keys and a click as the door was unlocked. It swung open, unsurprisingly revealing Simon, who quickly stepped inside and reclosed the door. He carried some sort of file folder under his arm, though he set it down on the table as he walked to Sarah's cage.
Although she tried to fight the fear that had left her so vulnerable yesterday, she still shivered nervously as the man cast his shadow over her. Nonetheless, she stared defiantly into the eyes that hovered so high above her. She knew that there wasn't anything that she could do to him, but there was plenty that she wouldn't do for him. Compliance was not an option for her, even if she knew that it would only bring pain. To her, pain meant nothing if she held on to her humanity and didn't allow herself to become her captor's obedient pet. Of course, even as she attempted to reassure herself with these thoughts, the instincts in the back of her mind kept trying to remind her of the joys that came with being good.
The world doesn't pause for such internal struggles however, and the man who stood nearby was a part of that world. Smiling slightly as he surveyed the small living space, he noticed the way that the small occupant watched him. Despite her attempts to appear tough, there were obvious signs of fear and uncertainty in her look. He continued to watch her, noticing that it made her more and more nervous.
Sarah was indeed getting more anxious with each passing second. The man's unsympathetic stare and her anticipation of what he might be planning were rough on her already worn nerves. She wouldn't let herself back down, though, and kept eye contact. As she watched him, however, she became increasingly aware of how much power he had over her. He was the one who determined what she could and couldn't do, and he could enforce it with no real resistance from her. It wasn't something that she liked to think about, since it meant that she truly was under his complete control. Eventually though, this fact and his almost judgmental gaze got to her. Feeling inexplicably like she had done something wrong, she looked down and lowered herself a little. Though this action brought her a great deal of relief, she was upset at herself for giving up.
Simon only smirked at the eevee's act of submission. She was learning, he thought, and it was all going at a nice brisk pace. Now all he needed to do was get her to follow his commands. If he could train her to follow orders, then he was sure that his superior would think again about terminating her life. After all, this was the first time that the process had been a success. The subject had been fully transformed, and there was no sign of any terminal genetic defect or visible deformity. He needed to do his best to preserve her.
Finally deciding to speak, he said, "Well, I hope you had a good day. I would've been here sooner, but I had so much work to do. As you know, a scientist's work is never done. There's always new data to check and new experiments to run. You're rather lucky to be spared from such a busy life." He crouched down, examining her expression. She seemed to be bored and annoyed. It didn't surprise him too much. He never expected her to actually care about what he told her, but it seemed like the proper opener to make her feel like everything was normal.
Any effect resembling this was negligible, though. Sarah just sat there, continuing to avoid eye contact. She wondered what the point was of him saying all that to her and why he didn't just get her out already. It wasn't like she could escape, but she wanted to put a little more distance between herself and the man. Then again, if he did get her out, she would likely be forced to do some sort of training. Whatever that ended up being would not be very pleasant. Still, it would be nice to do something outside the cage. Maybe it would be worth it, though she didn't have much choice anyways.
As Simon again began to speak, she came out of her thoughts. "Well," he started again, "I'm sure that my day isn't all that interesting to you. It certainly isn't anything that would concern you. However, I do have something that does. You see, I figured that, since you've been out of the loop for awhile, I'd give you a little update about how things are."
The former human looked up curiously as the man stood back up. What sort of information could he have that would be of interest to her? It wasn't like she had had very many friends or anything. She hadn't been all that concerned about current events as a human. Why would she be any more so as a pokémon? With no ideas about what was coming, Sarah could only wait for her captor to reveal it to her.
It wasn't a very long wait. Simon simply had to grab the folder from the table before resuming his previous pose. Opening the folder, he skimmed the contained documents quickly and then looked back to Sarah. "You see," he continued as if he had never taken a pause, "I took the liberty of looking up your records on the TERA database. I must say, I expected there to be more here, but I suppose that you were still young." He glanced again at the papers he held, pretending not to notice the eevee's annoyed expression at his use of the past-tense. "Now, let's see. 'Sarah Cassandra Kaplan, born January 20, 1988, in Viridian. Parents: Thomas Richard Kaplan and Melissa Ann Kaplan.' Hm… Mother died in 1995. Now, that is a shame."
The sarcasm in his voice was obvious, and it didn't encourage Sarah's happiness any. There was nothing she could do but mutter a quick, "Jerk." As Simon looked up at her questioningly, she was actually thankful for once that she couldn't be understood. Otherwise, she might have gotten a shock for that. Of course, this single perk was hardly any consolation to her situation. She was just glad when Simon turned his attention away from her and towards the documents again.
"What else?" he muttered, looking through the records. "Ah. School transcripts. Wow. Very impressive. Quite the A student, although not really in history. What's the matter? Not that interested in the past?" Not even waiting for any sort of response, he continued, "Well, no matter. It seems that this transcript only goes up to about two years ago, though. That also seems to be around the time that your last known address was confirmed. I wonder what could have happened then." This time, he did look towards her as if expecting some sort of answer.
Of course, Sarah knew quite well what had happened. At age sixteen, she had been kicked out of her house by her very own father. Not that it had just come out of the blue. Her father had always been reluctant when it came to supporting a child, especially after her mother died. She was getting impatiently annoyed, though. She expected a list of current events, not an examination of her past. It wasn't even like he was reviewing it with her. He was just telling her, as if she was just learning it all for the first time.
Suddenly losing any interest in continuing to listen to the things that the man was saying, the eevee turned around and lied down, resting her head on her paws. It was an act of boredom, tiredness and, most of all, defiance. Turning away showed that she didn't care about him, and that he shouldn't waste his energy on her. Had they been the same species, either human or eevee, and were in a more social encounter, this may have had the desired effect of him leaving her alone. This was not the case, however, and Sarah soon realized her mistake as she felt the familiar electrical pain shoot through her body. Once again affected by increases in heart rate and adrenaline, she stood up and whipped around, looking up at Simon nervously.
"I expect you to listen when I'm talking to you," he said forcefully, his faux anger having as much of an impact on the eevee as the genuine thing would have. His cold glare spoke of unvoiced threats, and Sarah once again had to avert her eyes from his. "Now then, are you willing to pay attention, or do I have to give you a little more motivation?" His finger hovered at the ready over the main button of the black remote. One look at the remote was all she needed to do what she was told, and she sat down to listen. She wasn't so much afraid of being shocked again as she was worried that he might not ever let her out. Either way, he had gotten what he had wanted out of her.
"Very good," Simon told her, returning the device to his pocket. He did need her full attention in order for what he was going to tell her to have the appropriate impact. "We only have a few more papers to look through; just stay with me. So, a few months after mysteriously disappearing, you apparently got hired by a 'T. E. Market Co.'." He paused for a moment as he stared at the paper in disbelief. "Is that seriously what we used as a front? The higher ups must not have been thinking when they came up with that one. No wonder the DX project was disbanded. Well," He looked up at Sarah, an insincere smile on his face. "I guess you're lucky that you got transferred here. I heard that most of the employees had their employment… terminated." The hidden meaning behind this final word was obvious to Sarah, and it didn't make her feel any better.
"We're getting a bit off topic, though," the man assessed. "Let's get back to your work record in this department, shall we? It sais that you worked for awhile as a lab assistant, doing a lot of the theoretical and small-scale tests. You were considered a dedicated employee by your superior and earned yourself a promotion. Then something happened, though. There were complaints filed about inhumane treatment and destruction of innocent lives. Oh dear," Simon uttered, faking concern, "it seems that you resigned as a member of Team Rocket, but before the resignation could be processed, there was an accident and…"
Sarah watched him in confusion. An accident? This wasn't any accident! She had been forced into this on purpose! What could Simon possibly be talking about? It wasn't like Team Rocket needed to forge records like that. As she caught a glimpse at the small piece of paper that the man was now holding, it all made sense to her. They wanted to make sure that no one even tried to look for her. What she didn't understand was why they would bother. Even if someone did find out who she really was, there was no way to reverse the process. She would have liked to have had more time to think about it, but the man was once again starting to speak.
"It appears that I've made a mistake," he said to her. "I'm afraid that Sarah Kaplan is no longer living." Now the eevee was completely lost. She had already figured out that what he held in his hand was her death certificate, but he was talking like he didn't know it was a fake. Why would he be saying stuff like that when he knew that she was alive right in front of him? The reasoning was entirely unimaginable to her. Simon quickly made it known though, when he said, "I guess that means that you aren't really Sarah. You're just an ordinary eevee."
She was absolutely stunned. He couldn't possibly believe that, could he? She wasn't just some regular old eevee; she was human, and he knew it. How could he not? It wasn't like she had been acting like a regular pokémon. This was just too confusing for her already mixed-up mind. The way Simon had switched his views so suddenly made no sense to her. She couldn't quite grip the fact that it was all a ruse.
This was the way that Simon wanted it. Confusion made the mind susceptible to change, and he could take advantage of this to help mold the way she acted. Speaking softly to the eevee, he continued, "Well, if you aren't Sarah, then we'll have to find some other name for you. After all, 'Sarah' isn't a very good name for an eevee. It's much too human for you. I bet you can't even grasp such a name in that little mind of yours. There must be something better for you. 'Fluffy', perhaps? No… How about 'Cookie'? I guess that doesn't work either. What then?" Simon gave an expression as though he was deep in thought. In truth, though, he was still watching the eevee for her reaction.
A reaction is what he got, too. For the most part, Sarah had been staring at him in disbelief, processing what he was saying. Now he was taking the one thing of her humanity that she had retained in the world outside of her mind. The reason he gave was also particularly unsettling to her. She could grasp her name just fine. True, she couldn't actually visualize it as a written word, but she still knew that it was her. As she attempted to speak it out loud, though, it didn't come naturally. She would get it mixed up with other words that seemed close. Finally, after focusing her whole ability, she got something that sounded close enough, but she could tell that it was slightly off. This small deviation, combined with the time it took for her to call it forth, made her that much more upset.
It didn't matter if she couldn't say it properly, though. It was still her name, and no one could just change it on a whim. He had no right to treat her like a possession. She was a human and still had a mind, even if a few things had gotten changed. She wanted to shout her feelings at the man as loud as she could. It wasn't worth it, though. Even if he could understand her, he wouldn't listen and would likely just give her another shock. It was a horrible position that Sarah had been trapped in through no direct fault of her own. It wasn't like she had stupidly walked into that machine of her own will. She had been forced, and she was still the one paying.
Simon watched in interest as he noticed the anger in the eevee rise, even if she was trying to hide it. He was making her upset, but she wasn't lashing out. This was yet another sign that the training was going successfully. Continuing to wear a smirk on his face, he brought her out of her thoughts by saying, "I think I've got one. It may still be a little hard for you to comprehend, but it's certainly better than 'Sarah'." He forgave the little growl that came from the pokémon for now, too caught up with where he was going. "I've decided to name you 'Perdita'. Yes, I think it fits you perfectly. What do you think, little Perdita?"
What she thought was the same thing that she had been thinking. It was such a strong thought that she felt the need to voice it. Looking the man straight in the eyes, she shouted, "You son of a female mightyena!" Sarah faltered as her own words returned to her. That was most definitely not what she had meant to say. Sure, it meant the same thing technically, but it was completely different. Even the things that she said were being changed by this stupid body!
All Simon had to say about the outburst was a sarcastic, "Good. I'm glad you like it." He then reorganized the papers that he held and put them back into the folder. Standing up, he placed the folder on the table and looked down at the eevee, watching her expressions of anger and confusion. She was still fighting all of this, but he knew that she would be forced to accept it. It was only a matter of time. Unfortunately, that was also the one thing that Simon was being pressured by. If he didn't tame her quickly…
Well, he didn't like to think of such a waste of resources. For now, he'd let the eevee have a chance to think about what he had said so far. She would come to terms with what she was now. He just hoped that she didn't take too long for it to happen. Looking at his watch, he said to her, "Well, Perdita, I've been here for awhile, and I'm afraid that it isn't safe to get you out in the mood that you're in right now. I'll certainly check in tomorrow to see if you've calmed down. Maybe we can do something a little more active then." He smiled at her then began to walk towards the door. Looking back, he added, "If you're lucky, I might have something special for you tomorrow, so you'll have that to look forward to. Goodbye, Perdita."
With that, Sarah was once again left alone. No longer supervised, she released her emotions violently. "I! HATE! YOU!" she screamed as loud as her smaller eevee lungs could handle. After which, she threw herself against the side of the cage. This only served to hurt her, though, and she staggered back in pain. She tried to ignore the pain, as well as the instincts that were responding to it, but that only worked for so long. Eventually she had to give in, and she lied down before setting to work on using her tongue to soothe the points on her body that had made contact.
When she was done, she just rested her head on her front paws. She was still stuck in that same hopeless situation of being stuck alone with nothing but her instincts. It was hard, but she had to keep fighting against them. Unfortunately, she was still too emotional to fend them off entirely. She was mad at Simon for renaming her. There was still had a dull pain in her side, which she was also upset at herself for stupidly causing. Worst of all, she was sad. Not because of her being stuck as a pokémon or the way she was treated. No, it was because, after all that, he hadn't gotten her out so that she could run around. It was not a human thought, and she hated having it.