Finally, my mother got a strange piece of mail, which was later handed to me. I was asked to come in for another day's work. They gave me a payment rate and a fuzzy description of what I was supposed to do ('similar happenings to the first time you participated in our experiment') as well as a time and place to go if I was interested. I was warned that I would leave home and be staying away for a while. My mother, being demented, was thrilled at this.

"Oh, honey! You're going out to see the world finally! And with your Eevee, too!"

"Vee!" Exclaimed the fluff ball, eyes wide and excited. I looked at it as if to say 'don't encourage her' and was surprised to see those large ears flatten. Could that connection still be there, but dimmed?

"Oh, don't look so grim, dear!" I was embraced in a hug and then held at arm's length. "It'll be fun! An adventure! And I'm sure these responsible adults will keep you well-fed and comfortable, because if they do anything wrong, I know people who could crush them!"

It was creepy how she said this with a smile and the same chipper voice she used when she was talking about festivals.

"Right…" I backed away from her and reread the letter, making sure I understood everything.

"You are going to do it, right?" The woman said anxiously behind me. I nodded my head 'yes'. "Good! Then I'll pack your bags for you!"

Before I could protest, she was up the stairs and probably searching through my drawers. I was left alone with Eevee, who seemed to be watching me for something. With a sigh, I put down the letter and lifted up the ball of fluff, whose tail twitched in happiness.

"Looks like we're going traveling." I said, petting it and scratching behind the ears. "You don't get any bad feelings about this, do you? Cus I'm kinda nervous."

I only got a lick on my cheek in return.

A couple of days later, I leave for the docks with my pack on my shoulders. Eevee gets in a last hug, as do I. With the day of actually leaving home, and my mother, I find that I'm more nervous about it than I wanted to admit. Now that I thought about it, I had never been separate from my mother before. This would, as she happily put it, be a new experience.

Gale already knew I was leaving. We had spoken the previous day. He seemed excited for it, and both he and my mother followed me to the docks today, smiling like idiots. There was a boat waiting there, and the lady worker from before greeted me and Eevee. As the boat went off, I waved at them. I thought about how I wouldn't see them for a couple of weeks, or maybe a couple of months. If only I had known what I was actually getting into.

I soon found that the boat ride was nothing but a sort of preliminary phase. The boat, being huge, easily held another one of those machines, and Eevee and I were made to go in and out a couple of times. The experiences were the same as before, and I had to stifle my own shouts in order to pay attention and get used to the machine while it was running. In time, I learned to relax while the current took me and changed me into…

Although it was cool interpreting feelings as if they were clear thoughts from Eevee, I still was unhappy about the exact transformation. No matter what, I continued to be small, fluffy, and generally adorable. My only saving grace was that the few technicians that worked with the machine were the only ones that were allowed to be in the same room with me while we were running tests. That is to say, very few people got to see me in this embarrassing state.

The only thing that seemed to be a problem was that Eevee wasn't capable of anything particularly special. That is to say, I could tackle something and throw sand at them just as easily as Eevee could. To try and correct this, the technicians decided to put another Pokémon in the other capsule.

At first, Eevee was very firm about not letting this happen. He bit someone, and struggled to stay away from the machine whenever I was near it. It was clear to me that Eevee believed it was his privilege, and that no one else should participate in this with me. That was something I got very clearly. He couldn't care less if someone else was trying it, but if I was near the machine, he went crazy. I didn't like doing something that upset Eevee without talking with him, but the technicians weren't having it. One of them held Eevee firmly while I was shunted unwillingly to the machine. The doors closed, and I heard the whirring of the machine start up. I wondered if the Shinx in the capsule next to mine was used to this machine. In that moment, I felt as if I was being looked at by the Shinx. And then there was rejection.

Before the spinning of its parts had really started up to the proper level, the machine made an error noise and slowed down to a stop again. The door opened and I walked out, confused. Eevee bound up to me, having apparently worked his way to freedom while I was in the machine. I leaned down to pick him up like he wanted, and was surprised to see a stern glare on his usually cute features.

"Vee!" He lectured.

I wasn't sure entirely what he was saying, but I imagined it to be the effect of 'never do that again!' It wasn't as if I had a clue what to say in return, so I just frowned back after covering up my surprise. Eevee glared further, and then turned to the Shinx that walked daintily by me as it was let out of the machine. The look it gave me was perhaps colder than Eevee's.

"I don't get it." Someone was mumbling next to the controls.

"What happened?" I asked calmly, Eevee still in my arms as I approached.

"You… Shinx… Neither of you merged." The man muttered, readjusting his glasses with sweaty fingers.

"Yeah, I got that part." I said somewhat impatiently. "What was different this time?"

"Right… right… What was different?..."

He started typing fervently at his keyboard, the glare of the screen reflecting off his glasses. From behind me came the main woman in charge, sighing and trying to cover up her annoyance. It occurred to me that something was eating these technicians up. There was something wrong, and I wasn't privy to it.

"What's wrong?" I asked, my tone indicating that I didn't want to be babied. The woman gave me a slightly surprised look, but seemed to think there was no point in hiding.

"If you can't do this with anything other than an Eevee, this project may be a bust."

"Why? I mean, you have me for as long as you need to gather more data. I mean… Maybe certain people have an affinity for certain types, or something."

At my mention for affinities, the man at the computer made a noise and opened another window, doing more calculations. The screen flickered often on his glasses, and it was somewhat distracting in my peripherals. Eevee was unusually still in my arms. He seemed to be fixed on staring at the lady before me.

"Oh, but that's the problem." The lady sighed, looking with what I now recognized as a small bit of disdain at Eevee. "We don't have you for as long as we need you. We're on a time limit. This project has been so long in the making that the people who fund us are about ready to pull out all support. A demonstration needs to be made, or else it'll all be buried… Along with us."

Her tale was kind of sad, a lament that I felt was true. Still, Eevee's tenseness in my arms had me rethinking the situation. What if we were separated again? Would Eevee freak? Would I? I had to admit that while I was in that machine alone, I was really sad that it wouldn't be Eevee who would lend me their strength.

"You'd at least get support if a successful merge happened, right?"

"Perhaps…" The woman sighed. She glanced at the man at the computer, and then motioned for me to walk with her. "But you must understand. I don't really want to separate you from your Pokémon, but a demonstration is always more effective when it's flashy. It'd make more of an impression. We'd get more than just enough to barely get by."

I thought the situation over. I didn't want to deprive people of their jobs. On the other hand, Eevee still felt somewhat violated because of how he was separated from me. Because I was silent for so long, those big brown eyes turned to me, one ear upon his head to the side and the other sticking straight up. He probably wondered what was up.

"Eevee. Can I try this… Just once? They really need it." My voice was soft and apologetic, and I couldn't even meet Eevee's eyes.

There were a couple of moments of silence between us. Then the fluff ball wiggled from my arms, and I allowed him to drop on the floor. He walked a few paces away from me, then looked back and sighed.

"Vee." He said with a tone of reluctance.

I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding as Eevee proceeded to the door of the machine room, which was overheating. The woman looked from me to the Pokémon, and then back, clearly confused. I felt a couple of other eyes upon us as well, and figured the entire room had been hanging on our decision.

"So?"

"It's a yes."

"There's still a problem." A voice from behind me intoned, and I turned sharply to see the computer guy. "You haven't been able to synchronize with any Pokémon but Eevee."

"Yes, there is that…" The woman sighed, frustrated.

"I… may have a theory." I said slowly.

"It had better be a damn good theory." She shook her head, walking with me to the door, where Eevee waited. "We need a breakthrough within the next five hours."

"Why?" I asked. Then I noticed the abnormally dark shadow that had overcome the boat.

There were others gathering at the railing, and Eevee and I curiously approached, Eevee jumping back into my arms to be safe. We looked above, and instead of seeing clouds, we saw what seemed to be a floating island. My mouth was open for an uncomfortably long time as I totally lost my sense of self-awareness, and instead gave into awe. It was huge, somehow hovering there in the sky as if it belonged there.

"This is where we were going?" I breathed.

"Yes. This is where we will perform our demonstration."

There was a long process as a giant net was lowered from the floating island, and divers maneuvered it under the ship, attaching it to another set of ropes on the other side of the boat. The ropes were thicker than me. Everything was so startling to me that I had troubles controlling my gaping mouth. Eevee was no longer alone in open awe, and we both ran around the ship, trying to catch a better view of the floating sky. It was amazing that we were going to be up there in time. We damn near weren't- the ship gave a great lurch as it was pulled out of the water, and we almost slid off the side and into the water.

The lady in charge came to fetch us- we, still tangled against the railing for safety-, telling me to repack everything, since we would be given new rooms once we were on board the island. I did so eagerly, but again found that familiar anxiety beginning to eat up at me. I was the demonstration. That meant there would be people staring right at me, and that made me more than a little bit nervous.

Once the ship shook into its flying dock, I exited my room once more, Eevee sitting awkwardly on top of the bag that was rolling behind me. We were escorted to the walkway, but I paused at the top, seeing who exactly was standing at the bottom, waiting for the scientists and I. They were all dressed in black of one sort or another, and they all bore a giant red R on their fronts. This floating island, no wonder it was so amazing! It was owned by Team Rocket.

Suddenly, I was having issues. I didn't want to get off the boat- in fact, I wished they would lower us back into the water and let us leave. Team Rocket was notorious for being a mean bunch of criminals that took what they wanted for the sake of profit. They were like a human symbol for greed. I didn't like the idea of working for them, and suddenly the idea of demonstrating a technology like this in order for the scientists to be funded… Well, suddenly it was frightening.

Still, I couldn't figure out a way to get off the ship and away from Team Rocket without getting in trouble, so I kept my face neutral and unaffected, and proceeded where I was told to go. The scientists and I were given our own area of the island, to work, study, and rest. We each had our own rooms as well, something that only I was able to take advantage of, and even then it was only for about an hour as the machine was moved, recalibrated, and tested without me.

Eevee curled up on top of my stomach as I tried to get to sleep, but my mind ran feverishly in circles. What was I supposed to do? Eevee was rare, and worth quite a bit of money, so what if we were separated, and they took him? What if the test failed, and as punishment he was taken?

My panicked thoughts were interrupted when a paw suddenly pushed my nose down. I looked down at the leg, crossing my eyes to accomplish the task, and finally looked at Eevee's face. He was glaring. I blinked a couple of times, and wondered if he knew what I was thinking. The more we went in the machine, the more we seemed to understand each other- or at least get a vague idea of what the other one was feeling. Finally, after a couple more minutes, I sat up. We both stared at each other before I decided on something.

"Alright, listen up. We might get separated for the project. I already promised them I would do it once without you. But we need to make sure we meet again. These Rocket people… I don't trust them. If something happens, you and I need to meet again. Do you understand?"

The only response I got was a lick on the cheek, but I suppose it meant something. The idea of being able to communicate with a Pokémon was strange, especially to a person like me. For all I knew, I was going crazy. Or maybe the empathy was one-sided. I couldn't know for certain, and I wasn't going to find out any time soon.

We were called out of our room while staring at each other. A couple more tests needed to be done, and everyone whose lives depended on this were panicking. With the level of agitation so high in the air, I was unsurprised that there was a small argument to the far side of the room we were given to work in.

In only a few moments, I noticed that there was another Pokémon in the room. I did not recognize this Pokémon, and the woman in charge walked me over to it. It was tall, with bird-like features, but it was bipedal and had the coloring of red and yellow. Actually, it looked pretty cool. I was told it was a Blaziken.

"We told them we'd need a volunteer Pokémon for the demonstration, to make a better impression. This is what they gave us. I'd say we were pretty fortunate, but…" She trailed off, glancing at me. I could tell she wondered if I could sync with any Pokémon other than Eevee. "Well, we have little time, and we have to try this out. I really hope your idea works."

I greeted Blaziken and gave him all of my patience and amiability- at least, whatever I had left in this tense situation. I knew that we needed to be on good terms with each other, but Blaziken seemed nervous- not the serious, hardened kind of Pokémon I always imagined under a Rocket member's foot. In response, I tried to work with this, showing Blaziken that he could trust me. When the machine was finally calibrated, we were told to get inside, and yet the Pokémon hesitated. Eevee waited unhappily behind a line of nervous scientists, and the crowd seemed more displeased with Blaziken's unwillingness to be shoved into a tiny capsule than anything else. I decided to go first. Maybe, if he saw that it was alright, he might move forward.

Nervously, he watched me as I entered the machine, turned, and smiled at him. Blaziken's eyes narrowed warily, trying to see if anything strange would happen. I even spoke, telling him that 'see, everything's fine.' Finally, the Pokémon slowly proceeded into the other side of the machine. It hesitated, but got in, and so the experiment proceeded.

The whirring started a new bout of nervousness, and as the machine sped up, I became aware of the familiar sensation. It was as if a part of my skull had opened up to receive another series of thoughts. One could imagine it as having a brain you never knew about, and adding those thoughts to the ones that already existed in your head, but these new thoughts were distinctively alien. They weren't mine, and they wandered in what felt like my personal space without meaning to. It was the machine, blending us together.

Through this, I could feel Blaziken's thoughts and nervousness. What was going on, what was going to happen? I tried to think about what had happened to me before, and the sensations I had gotten from Eevee. These thoughts instead startled Blaziken, and I heard a bang from the capsule next to mine. The whirring slowed down suddenly, and then stopped entirely.

Both doors opened, and I rushed out, seeking to give attention to Blaziken while the residual connection was still there. The Pokémon was spooked, and wouldn't let anyone near it- least of all the scientists. I seemed to be the one who could get the closest, but still, I couldn't even talk to him. He wouldn't focus. His eyes indicated that he was looking for a way out, and it occurred to me that he might be newly caught.

A thought struck me as the scientists tried to block off the exits, panicking and thereby ensuring that Blaziken would not calm down. I rushed towards Eevee, leaning down to pick him up, but he backed up, looking unhappy with me.

"Oh, come on! Now is not the time to be jealous. We need to help him, because if this doesn't go through, we're all in trouble."

Eevee made a reluctant noise, but let himself be picked up, and I walked over to the other Pokémon again, the fluff ball in my arms. As soon as we came close, Blaziken's eyes locked on to us, despite the crowd. He watched us work our way to the front, and I muttered quick instructions to Eevee, who then pushed his way from my arms.

The two Pokémon stood there in the middle of the crowd for a couple of moments, staring at each other. Then they started talking. There was no way to translate their language, but it was apparent they were making some kind of exchange. Eevee started off aggressive, a mistake as I saw it, and it made Blaziken defensive. Something the fluff ball said, however, changed the other Pokémon's expression drastically- to a look of surprise, and then deep thought as Eevee went on talking. Finally, there was what sounded like a question, and then Blaziken nodded after an extended period of silence.

Eevee turned around, his job apparently done. I leaned down to pet him, thanking him. This was all he would allow, however, as he then walked right past me, and sat down where he had observed things before. I got the distinct feeling Eevee was angry with me. Still, Blaziken allowed himself to be approached and examined. The machine was double-checked, and then the scientists asked if we were willing to test it out one more time.

It was when Blaziken and I were about to agree that the double doors opened, and a Rocket member came through, walking fast. He stopped where we would hear him, and instructed us to start packing up and getting ready for the demonstration.

"What? We were told the demonstration would be held in another two hours!" The woman in charge said angrily.

"Don't get smart with me!" The man said with a smile, clearly hoping the woman would disobey him. "They're just my orders, and I'm passing them on from the Boss."

"The Boss?" Someone in the room said faintly. The grunt's smile turned nasty.

"Yeah, Boss Giovanni is here to watch a project of such importance. So I'd make sure that everything was nice and ready if I were you. Good luck."

With a wave, the man turned and left the scientists. After a stunned moment of silence, the woman in charge clapped her hands a few times and shouted orders, making sure to get everyone on their feet. After making sure work was being done, she turned to me.

"This needs to happen, Sondra. I don't know how important you thought it was before, but now I think you'll fully realize. Giovanni is here. If he sees a dud, we're through…" Her words turned quiet and nervous. Her hands were shaking on my shoulders, and I fought to be still in comparison. I don't know what it is, but when people are nervous or scared, I tend to start ignoring my own feelings in favor of them. Doesn't make any sense with a complete stranger like her.

"Yes, I get it." I say back, a little exasperated. "I want to protect something of my own, so don't worry. It's all or nothing."

"Right… Well, then," and she sighs and makes to shake her head, as if this would shake the anxiety from her, "you'll be needing a change of clothes."

"What? What's wrong with the ones I'm wearing?"

I look at myself. I'm wearing a grey T-shirt with a Pokeball symbol on it, a pair of jeans, and converse shoes. Who cares what I look like now? I'm supposed to be blending with another Pokémon in less than two hours, anyways, so it's not like my T-shirt is going to make a lasting impression.

"We have a nice grey tank-top and a more fitting pair of sweat pants waiting for you. You've been wearing those for so long, it's about time for a change. We'll be preoccupied with fixing and moving the machine, so you go ahead and take a shower and relax. You and Eevee both. Just make sure you're presentable."

"Yes, I get it. I have to look like a lab rat, not some person you picked up off the street." Despite my unhappy tone, I allowed myself to be shuffled off, and Eevee and I walked back to our room. There was indeed a new set of clothes waiting for us on the bed, the pile entirely composed of a neutral grey. I opted for a bath, first, and teased Eevee by threatening him with one. He hadn't gotten over being unhappy, so instead of some sort of frightened or wide-eyed response, I got an unresponsive stare. I shuffled off to my shower.

Neither the water, nor the clothes could calm my nerves. Eevee and I sat, stiff, in the room until we were fetched. But you may have guessed what happens when I'm under stress and have nothing to do. My mind wandered. Now that I had settled the idea of worries that were closer to myself- Eevee and the possibility of losing him- I began worrying about things that seemed further from myself. That is, it could affect many more people.

Team Rocket. I never heard good things about them, and if my brief interactions with them was any sort of indicator, the rumors had been true. They were generally bad, greedy people. The question as to whether I was alright with handing such a powerful device to them entered my mind. So far, in all of the scientist's travels, I was the only one that could use it, and even then only with Eevee. But if my theory was right, and there was acceptance on both ends, then synchronization between any human and Pokémon would be possible. And with the Rockets having first claim to that technology…

I closed my eyes for a second, and saw images of half-human, half-pokemon beings causing terror over the world. All in the pursuit of money and profit, and eventually world domination, I suspected.

I was frightened. The world would change very fast with a technology like this. I wanted to stop the demonstration from working properly, but by doing that, I would stop the scientists from gaining not only their wages, but respect. The satisfaction of knowing they were right about what they had worked on for years was very important. And yet, I could not figure out whether it was worth the terror that would wash about the world if a force like Team Rocket had control over it.

In the end, I decided, quietly, that Team Rocket could not have this. But how would I accomplish this task? For a very long while, it seemed, I sat there in my room and contemplated it while Eevee sat at attention on my lap, letting me pet him and play with his fur. The door opening interrupted my thoughts, and I was far from finished creating a working plan. The Rocket grunt escorted me to the waiting area, where the final touches were being applied.


Shieb: Again, worried things are going by too slow, but I figured the 'omg, it's Team Rocket' thing would make up for it. ;) Didn't I tell you there would be explosions? Well, things are kicking off with a little action in the next chapter, let me tell you!

I tried putting a cute little table with all the Pokemon she has at the moment (as the team will be growing) on here, but even when I edit the HTML, and it looks successful (biggest high ever!), it won't save once I'm finished (biggest cry ever). If you're more into pictures and that whole thing, you might want to read this on Blogger, where I have a little more creative room, and different commentary. Go to http)/pokesync1)blogspot)com/ and replace the ) with a colon and periods. :)