Chapter 10: Breathing Poison
It was only a few hours later that Daniel learned the true meaning of 'test' and what had happened to his village.
The scientists were talking amongst themselves as they prepped him, hanging his bag on the wall were he could keep an eye on it and stripping him of his clothes. He was then dressed in a clean white gown and led over to one of the strange tubes built against the wall.
"That stupid fire demon, blowing through our old lab…" one of the scientists behind him was grumbling as he checked the dials, "Shouldn't have used entei and victini…one would have been plenty, but no…"
"Nothin' to do about it now, that one's been 'put down' anyway…" his neighbor muttered, jotting notes on a clipboard as he glanced over at their new 'test subject', "Hey, how old is the boy?"
The one leading Daniel shrugged and shoved him roughly when he didn't respond, "Well how old are ya?"
Dysmas came in at that moment, his strange absol padding at his side as they surveyed the scene. He then stepped over to Daniel and roughly lifted him by his arm, "Now they need this data boy if you want to survive, speak!"
Daniel shivered in the leader's presence, his arm aching from the strain as he willed himself back to the ground, "E-eight, we can't have a partner 'til seven…"
Dysmas sat him back down inside the open tube as the scientist jotted the data down, "Good boy, see to it that his pokémon aren't touched…" He released the boy then and continued on his way, leaving Daniel to the scientists.
The tube was sealed then and flooded with a strange liquid, the scent making it hard to stay awake as he dimly watched the scientists at their computers.
Daniel awoke the next afternoon screaming, his whole body was burning as the necklace he had found at the lake flashed with a dark light. Shadows ripped themselves from their places along the wall and curled around him like thick black snakes, the rushing wind the only sound beneath his screams.
"So it begins, will the boy live?" Dysmas had appeared in the doorway, one of the scientists at his side as they watched, neither moving to aid the screaming child.
"I can't say, we did as you said and left the necklace alone…see it try to aid him now, such a strange thing." the scientist replied, recording his observations alongside the data from the previous day, "Did as you said and used dark types, houndour as a base…zorua's illusion gene…and some left over from your mew's creation…"
"Hmm…contain that element of his and bring him to me when it's over, I think we've found a name for him…" Dysmas turned and disappeared down the hall then, leaving the scientist to observe the boy now thrashing on the small bed reserved for him.
Shadow leaned against an alley wall behind the Viper City pokémon center, the poison type city bringing back bad memories as he watched people milling by on the main street. He had stopped here only because the city housed another of the gyms but was more than eager to move on again.
He slipped quietly to the alley exit, catching a brief glimpse of Forest disappearing into the crowds and paused again to plan his next move.
"It's been a while shadow boy, still hiding it well?"
Shadow jerked back into the cover of the alley as he made out the source of the voice, a purple-haired teen watching him with venom in her eyes.
"Don't think you can hide from me, I'm an admin now see?" a deep purple shard glittered at her neck as she stepped up to the alley mouth, "And we've been keeping tabs on our little runaway…"
"Aerona…" the word was barely a breath as Shadow retreated deeper into the alley, his hand already on Psy's pokèball and his eyes never leaving her.
"Oh no you don't, we're going to have a nice little conversation…" her eyes narrowed as a crobat dratted past her, a dangerous smile on her lips, "Dash?"
Shadow jerked his hand back, wincing as a bright red welt appeared and the crobat dratted back behind her, "You've never been one to talk Aerona…"
"So mean, and after we took you in and everything…" she laughed and twirled in a brief circle, her deep purple locks following the motion as her shard glowed brighter, "Don't forget who you belong too…"
"Not you…" Shadow hissed, rubbing his thumb along the welt to ease the pain as one of his necklaces flashed in response, "You'd better be careful…"
Aerona frowned as she scanned him again, her gaze briefly trailing over the dark gem now glittering with a sickly light, "No, I don't fear your power shards…the only one I fear is the boss's…"
She stepped up to him then and snatched his unwounded arm, poison glittering on her fingertips as she watched him squirm, "You still can't even control it while I know my element well, he'll be coming to check on you soon anyway…"
Shadow growled, shadows swirling around them as the necklace surged and burned against his neck, his eyes dimming with the struggle to control it.
Aerona held him there for a moment, ignoring the angry shadows as they began to diminish, "See, no sense of class…to think you got away with the other power necklace…"
She fingered the second shard dangling from his neck, a dark blue diamond next to the fading shadow shard, and finally dropped him back to the alley floor, "Whatever, boss'll have a punishment ready for you…come on Dash…"
She turned and left the alley then, leaving him slumped against the wall as she and her crobat returned to their real work, a blackened sun charm dangling from her right wrist.
