Chapter X: Thoughts

August 12, 2061, 8:34 p.m.

Secret Report #10

Subject: Shadow's and Light's Development II

It seems the rest of them have not found out about these reports...hopefully it will stay that way. I cannot afford for them to find out what I have detailed in these reports, concerning Shadow…

And Light.

As I expected would happen in these recent times, Shadow is beginning to show the effects of having been infused with the power of darkness. Aside from the obvious abilities he has (speech, advanced reasoning, power, etc.) it appears through the reports his partner Darrel send in that his dark powers are now 'showing' themselves. His performances on the field and elsewhere prove this statement true, such as detailed in a report Darrel sent in after bombing an outpost of how Shadow went 'berserk' and caused the obliteration of a large section of the eastern Viridian Forest while battling the Pokemon Master Ash Ketchum and his partner pikachu, Bolt. What Darrel listed as effects of the attacks Shadow used have allowed me to hypothesize exactly what attacks he used: Dark Volt Tackle, Dark Aura, Shadow Barrier, Shadow Flare, and ExtremeSpeed. I suspect other abilities may have also been used, but I myself cannot verify this.

On another note, it appears Light might also be going through changes as well. This is very possible, after all, she was a test subject for a secret experiment I had performed around the same time that Shadow was released to directly counteract him, since I knew that these events would happen. Simple enough; I decided that she was the perfect test subject because she was, and still is, rather good-natured and docile compared to the other obscene and twisted pokemon turned fiends we have here in Dr. Namba's 'research labs'. Ha! Those fucking insane asylums are far from research labs. They are more like, 'torture chambers', after what I've seen happen in those cells, to those poor souls who have forever been corrupted. Blood has been spilled in there countless times, pokemon been forced to submit to unspeakable tests, ranging from physical enhancement tests that have ended up turning rattatas into bloody, giant creatures with their flesh tearing from the rapid muscle growth, to the test like the one Light went through after being subjected to project Eclipse…

Who the fuck does Namba think he is, doing THAT to Light and the rest of those poor female pokemon? Using D-Epsilon5 liquid to get them…in heat, so that they can get pregnant when released back into the base, then taken back to the labs so he can experiment on the unborn fetuses of those pokemon…

If I could, I would go and subject HIM to the same tests, and see how HE likes it, to get a beam of dark energy fired at him for around twenty hours straight, as he screams and pleads for it to end like all of the subjects before, his blood rushing to his skull as I continue with the next of the tests…

Sorry, I have gotten carried away. Back to Light…

Yes, she too appears to be going through changes similar to Shadow, though in the opposite spectrum. Attacks that Darrel reported from her appeared to be White Lightning, ExtremeSpeed, and the ability to somehow deflect an attack using her paws in front of her by 'tearing' the attack in two at her sides. This leads me to believe that the 'White Energy' I have fused within her is reacting to the dark powers of Shadow just as I had hoped. Though she cannot at this time summon the power at will, and only in the case of emergency or strong emotion, I believe that she will eventually be able to do so. Such a thing would truly further my own ambitions here…

Hmph. It would just be yet ANOTHER mistake to my humane record…

I'm not nearly as bad as Namba, but I may be heading in that direction. I only mean to make Shadow and Light's lives easier here until the time comes, but I see now that I may be using them for my gains too much. True, I wouldn't be where I am now without Project Eclipse and Shadow's own creation, which led to me being promoted to a lead scientist, but because of my experiments I have probably left both of them to be different from the rest of their familiar species. All the while, I benefit from the results of Shadow's further development by receiving praise from the boss and my colleagues, while Shadow himself is continually made to do each of the missions they hand out to him, because he wishes to 'make Kanto pay for the death of his parents.' Otherwise I think he might've defected by now.

Or maybe not?

I have noticed that there appears to be a bit of a bond appearing between him and both Light and Darrel. Before the mission to take Celadon he acted very professionally towards them, which seemed to cause some hate between him and Darrel, with Light caught in the middle. Now he seems to regard the welfare of both more. He and Darrel still seem to tussle periodically, but they usually are on good terms now. As for his relationship with Light, it is around the same, minus the fighting. As a matter of fact, I feel that perhaps Light has feelings for him…

And I know that Shadow likely knows this too, but refuses to accept it. He likely does this to keep his judgment on his missions clear, which I respect, but there will eventually be no way to hide such feelings…

Both of them have broken my hypothesis about their emotions toward each other in this area. I believed that since they had opposite energies inside them (light and dark) that they would despise one another. No, it may eventually develop into something else, something that is likely impossible to see in Team Rocket…

That something may be love.

I find this occurrence very astonishing and interesting, considering that many down here don't even believe such a thing could exist down here. It's always business, war, business in this massive underground bunker. So how could such 'love' exist here?

Because even if they are supposed to be the elite of Team Rocket, they too have emotions.

It appears that as smart as I may be, I may never be able to solve every mystery scientifically, though in the emotional areas science will fail all. No scientific entity, after all, could possibly understand emotion to the fullest.

In conclusion I expect to see further development, both physically and mentally, of these two 'chus.

This is X, signing out for now.

Light lay with her chest to the ground, her long tail seeming to guard her front while the back of her leaned against the wall of the room. She panted lightly as a small bead of sweat dripped off her nose to the concrete floor as a group of grunts walked past her to a set of weights. She herself had already done her share, and was simply resting, watching human grunts get their own workouts in to stay healthy for the war outside.

That was…pretty good, I suppose.

She got to her feet as she saw Darrel set to some weights, grunting as he lifted up a set of around two hundred fifty pounds, his bared chest muscles noticeably tensing as he moved the bar up and down at a steady pace each rep. Light slowly walked over to the set he was at and sat down, watching him. Darrel set the bar down to rest, catching his breath as he bent over, hand on his knees. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, catching sight of Light sitting there. He smiled lightly. "How'd it go for you?" He asked, knowing he wouldn't be able to understand anyway. She simply nodded at him. Nodding back, he grabbed the bar once again. "Get cleaned up and head back to the room, Light. Shadow is probably already back by now so you two just wait for me."

She watched for a few more seconds as he continued with his reps, his muscles once again tightening as he lifted and lowered the bar. Looking away, she walked towards the showers, passing by a few pokemon walking out. She walked down the long hallway towards an open shower, next to a chikorita's.

At least the water's not cold today…

Light stood on the tips of her hind paws so that the jet of water from the shower head could hit her directly on her skull, matting down her orange fur and cascading down her back. A small spark discharged off her left cheek, hitting the ground with a small 'buzz' that sent static through the grounded water around her paws. In the shower stall next to her she heard the cry of a chikorita, along with a thump sound, indicating to her that it had jumped from the sudden static. Light was about to apologize as she washed off her left arm but she heard it cry out again with another thump, this time with a splashing of water over the top of Light's stall.

What's going on over there?

Light got down on her belly and looked under the small crack that separated the stall from the one containing the chikorita, her mouth half-submerged in the water as her eyes widened at what she saw…

No…way…

She lay frozen at what she saw, oblivious to the fact that the shower on her side was now cascading the jet of water on her rear. What she saw happening to the chikorita on the other side made that feeling absolutely insignificant. On the other side the chikorita was held down by a rather large raticate as it continued to cry and tear…

…with the raticate violating it, cackling in its own language as the chikorita cried out for help, only to be silenced by a heavy hit across its face by the raticate's front paw, which tore a bloody gash on its cheek.

(Shut up, bitch, and take it like an adult!)

The slight aroma of the musk combined with the air of the water crossed over Light's nose an unwelcome visitor, Light still watching the ordeal take place in front of her position. The chikorita finally stopped struggling and let its head lay on its side, the raticate refusing to let up on its assault of her privates. Light's eyes locked with the chikorita's, which appeared large and exasperated, its breaths coming out in struggled quivers on the water-covered floor. Light peered up at the raticate's face to see the pure madness written on its eyes; obviously unknowing that Light was watching. Light drew back her head and stood up in her own shower stall as white energy surrounded her, evaporating the water from the shower head as soon as it touched the silvery aura now zapping around her like her own electrical energies. She felt something else approaching…

The raticate looked up from what it was doing and looked to its right, towards the next stall. Whatever pokemon was in there was lighting up his whole space, impairing his vision so that he could not take in all of what he was doing, angering him.

(Hey, stop lighting up the damn place; I'm trying to have some fun here!)

The blinding light continued to flow out from under the stall side, further angering the raticate. Releasing the hind legs that were now covered in the raticate's and the chikorita's own fluids now, it turned around so that it may confront the raichu in the next stall, but as soon as it faced forward a certain electric mouse stared back at him, blinding its eyes until they adjusted with the power of its own aura. (You want to say something, or what? Get the hell out of here and shut off the electricity works!)

The 'chu standing there simply tightened its fist, teeth gritted. ( Stop doing what you are doing now, or else.) It said in a calm voice. The raticate simply scoffed at the words. (And who the fuck's going to stop me? You?)

(Actually, YEAH.)

The next moment the raticate felt all the air in his chest rush out in a hot, painful burst, feeling the 'chu's fist deep into his chest, as if about to break through. The water running all over him amplified the surge of static coming from the chu's fist. The raticate felt a paw briefly clasp his small left ear before he was thrown forward into the wall out of the stall, his face crashing hard into it along with a spray of blood from his small, now broken, nose. (Son of a bitch…!) The raticate said, covering the bloody nose with one paw as a couple other pokemon outside their stalls looked on. Their attention then turned to the the short, yellow 'chu who walked a few steps out of the stall. (Why you little, insignificant…who the hell do you think you are!?) The raticate screamed at the 'chu. The shower behind it matted the tuft of fur over its right eye as it opened its mouth to reply. (I'm pretty sure my name's Shadow, idiot.)

The pokemon around them all appeared to take a step back, as if knowing what was about to happen next. The raticate noticed Shadow's eyes begin to tint red as the black aura around him intensified.

(Get ready.)

(Get ready? For wha-)

Shadow had just smashed his fist into the side of the raticate's head, sending it flying for around one second before crashing into a stall fifty feet away, making a massive dent on impact. The raticate shook its head an gasped for breath as several pokemon ran by, attempting to get out of the way of the battle. (You're going to pay for that…) The raticate said angrily, wiping blood from his nose before baring its fangs and charging Shadow head on. (Hyper Fang!) It yelled, leaping high and diving at Shadow from overhead, ready to crush Shadow's skull between his large fangs.

(Thunder Shield.)

The raticate smashed hard into the electrical shield, screaming as he hit the ground, thanks to the grounded water conducting the electricity off Shadow's shield. Shadow canceled out his shield and slowly approached the raticate. (What have you done!?) The raticate yelled, unable to move on the ground, with each attempt getting no response, let alone feeling, from his limbs. (What's the matter? Paralyzed?) Shadow said mockingly as he stood over the raticate with an arm up in the air. (Look on the bright side. You probably won't feel this next attack.) The arm Shadow held in the air suddenly surged with electricity, lighting up the room with dark electricity. Smiling, Shadow positioned his arm sideways toward the stalls. (Dark Thunderpunch!) He bellowed, swinging down his paw towards the raticate's gut…

A massive explosion from inside the showers rocked the training room, causing some of those exercising to get injured by falling equipment, followed by various shouts and yells. The lights flickered overhead, and completely went out by the showers…

Shadow panted where he stood, the energy around him fading. Shadow looked to his right paw; the raticate's blood coated the entire front half of it, dripping into a murky puddle below that head formed from the fusion of it and the stagnant water. On the other side of the hallway the raticate's corpse twitched oddly, electricity still inciting action in its nerves and causing blood to spurt from the hole in its chest, where fried muscle and other entrails hung out, some of the on fire along with the area surrounding the cavity. Blood hung on the wall the corpse leaned on like a crimson halo over its head. Behind him, Shadow sensed motion. Turning, Shadow saw Light standing there, staring first at the corpse and then at Shadow's blood-ridden paw with white energy surrounding her. Shadow blinked several times, thinking this was some sort of illusion; but no…

…she really did have that energy surrounding her.

(Shadow.) Light said calmly, apparently unfazed by the gore stuck to the wall on the other side of the room. Shadow looked back towards the corpse and shrugged, then faced forward, looking away from Light's face.

Looks like I fucked up bad…Now that I have control over this power I have to learn not to let my emotions get in the way, like Ash told me..

(Sorry…) He mumbled under his breath.

"Check it out and see what happened!" a voice called out from the front, along with another rustle of voices. (We must leave, NOW.) Light said in a still calm manner. Shadow looked at her cynically. (And how do you propose we get out of here without them seeing?) (Very simple.) Light said, seizing Shadow's paw. Shadow looked up at Light's face as her eyes glowed brighter. (Teleport.) Shadow looked at her in confusion before he noticed the area around him begin to fade before freezing in place and disappearing before his eyes, to be replaced by what appeared to be some kind of vortex above that grew brighter as it made its way to the center of itself. Shadow looked back as his ears swung back; behind was where he was once standing, but shrinking until it completely faded out of view. Light simply looked straight ahead through all of this, disregarding the shape-shifting figures in the background of the vortex. (Light, when the hell did you learn teleport!?) Shadow shouted over the roaring and screeching.

"She never did learn it."

(What?) Shadow said to Light, but she continued to look ahead as the light above got brighter and brighter every second. Shadow began to feel a burning in his skull, like someone had just set his brains ablaze. (Gggh!) Shadow cried as the pain intensified with each passing moment until he and Light were right below the vortex, where Shadow swore he saw the vision of a emerald-eyed figure with two other scarlet-eyed figures in the void on the sides of the vortex. The emerald-eyed figure seemed to mouth a sentence before Shadow was met by a blinding flash from above, the grip Light gave on his paw tightening. Within the flash he could see Light looking at him in a distanced way;

"The Light within Light knew it."

Shadow found himself flying through a dark abyss, where he saw several visions flashing throughout his subconscious like a film playing in his head:

"But do YOU know everything?"

What appeared to be a grey Pikachu walking together with another, normally colored Pikachu…

Shadow going through his first training exercises…

A Raichu standing by a lone apple tree with a group of different 'chus walking in the background…

Shadow first meeting Light…

Shadow gripped his head as a screeching noise pierced through his head, seemingly cueing the world around him to turn grey.

Shadow first battling Ash and Bolt…

Ash looking down at Shadow from the top of a broken skyscraper as rain poured down…

An unknown figure watching Shadow in blackness before beginning to approach…

Shadow forced his eyes open and looked to the side of him, where the same figure from the vision he had just experienced was approaching. Shadow felt the air resistance slow down on him before completely stopping, landing him fifty yards from the figure. It appeared to have long, erect ears with four black growths protruding from the back of its head like four ponytails. It had spikes on its paws and stood on two feet, It's abdomen giving way to what looked something like blue shorts…

A Lucario.

(Who are you?) Shadow asked the Lucario, his voice echoing through the endless darkness. "I'm really just a passerby, thank you." The Lucario replied in a pronounced tone of sadism, smiling as he crossed his arms. Shadow felt taken aback by this; that didn't sound like what a Lucario usually sounded like or acted. This Lucario's voice sounded almost layered with a normal voice, combined with a deeper, sinister sounding voice. "You speak?" Shadow asked as the Lucario continued walking towards him. The Lucario simply chuckled in its layered voice. "No; it's something mostly known as telekinesis." "Telekinesis? But you're- "A Lucario? Well, not exactly…" Shadow watched as the Lucario raised its arms above its head. "Anyway, I'm afraid I've said too much, Shadow. It's been very…NICE to speak with you…goodbye, for now…" The Lucario began laughing as a swirling circled appeared above his head, causing a massive surge of air to get sucked into it. Shadow tried to hold his ground, but was swept off his feet into the black hole…

Shadow opened his eyes once more to see the ceiling of his, Light's and Darrel's room. He jumped up and looked around, confused. (How did I end up…) Was all Shadow said until he spotted Light laying on her side next to him. (Light, what the fuck just happened?) Shadow said, getting up. Light continued to just lay there. (Light?) Shadow asked, walking to the front of her.

(How is she asleep?) Shadow sighed, seeing her eyes closed and her breathing very relaxed, showing that she was, in fact, sleeping. Shadow kneeled down by Light and charged electricity into his paw, jabbing it lightly into Light's cheek. (Woah!) Light said, her eyes flying open as a shower of sparks shot out of her cheek. She shook her head as she got up, apparently confused. (How did I get here?) She asked Shadow. He groaned. (You kind of brought us back here from the showers, remember?) Light shook her head again. (No I didn't, I was still in the showers, before I saw…) Shadow noticed Light go silent before she walked to her bed and leapt on top of it, lying down. (Before I saw a certain something I don't want to talk about.) Shadow immediately knew what she was talking about…

That raticate…

Shadow's paw tightened into a fist as he snarled. Light looked at him worriedly. (What's wrong?) (I know what you're talking about, and I can assure you that damn raticate won't be doing that again…) Light gasped as she heard this, knowing what Shadow meant by this. (You didn't…) (Yes, I did…he's dead now, because I couldn't control myself…) Shadow drooped his head in regret as Light looked on. (I just wanted to help that chikorita, but…I had to go fucking berserk and kill him…)

Light had worry written all over her face, watching shadow crawl up into his own bed and sigh. (Damn my emotions, Light…anyway, you're sure you don't remember teleporting me and you out of there, or being surrounded by that aura?) Light blinked at him innocently, which told Shadow she had no idea what he was talking about. (No I…don't remember doing that…) She said, paw on her chin in thought. (Never mind then…but are you sure you don't remember?) (I'm certain. I would definitely tell you if I did remember something like that, but I'm sure I did no such thing.)

(Okay then… ) Shadow ended dejectedly. What was the use? Apparently she didn't remember.

"Light cannot remember something that I did, Shadow."

(Hm? Did you say that?) Shadow asked Light upon hearing what sounded like her voice. Light shrugged. (No I…didn't say anything...are you feeling alright, Shadow?) She asked worriedly, covering herself up as the door opened. Shadow looked to the door as Darrel entered, looking a little frustrated. "Good, you two were in here." He said, sounding relieved. (Well-) Light started, only to be cut off by Shadow. "Yeah, we've been in here. Did something happen or what?" Darrel wiped his forehead with the edge of his black shirt and pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "Something blew up in the showers earlier. When we checked on it there was this dead raticate there with this massive, bloody hole through its chest, and a chikorita that had been lying in one of the stalls that look like it had just gotten raped or something…Whatever it was, I really don't want to know at this point." Darrel took off his hat and tossed towards the table, landing near Light's collar. Shadow looked down towards the floor and gritted his teeth. The sight of what that raticate burned through his mind…

No…Control, Shadow, Control…

"Something wrong, Shadow?" Darrel asked, noticing Shadow's teeth gritted. Light looked worriedly at him, seeing the anger hidden behind his eyes. Shadow relaxed and sighed, looking towards Darrel on his bed. "I'm fine, thanks." "Well good then. By the way, we should be going to sleep now. I hear that they're waking us up tomorrow REAL early for this next mission. They'll give us the details tomorrow."

"Fine."

Darrel rose into a sitting position, hitting a switch on the side of his bed that turned the lights off. As Shadow curled up on his bed he thought, pushing a question through his mind in the hopes of getting some sort of response:

Voice, can you hear me?

Shadow stared straight up at the ceiling, waiting for a reply. Nothing came except for the sounds of the beginnings of Darrel's snoring. Shadow closed his eyes and breathed out, closing his eyes.

Are you there?

"I'm here."

Why do you sound like Light?

"It's the best way for you to hear me. Besides, you might say I'm a part of her. We have met before, Shadow."

Part of her…Met you before…

Shadow thought back, his thoughts coming to rest on the day he first met Light, five years ago. The battle, then the power Light had during the battle that was just like the power he saw her with now…

And the voice that had spoken to him then.

That voice had a name…That name was…

Lightforce?

"It appears you remembered."

Lightforce…what exactly do you have to do with Light?

"You will learn that later on…but first I will warn you…do not grow too close to the darkness. He will tempt you to use it during the battle against him, and if you do use it hold on to your memories…lest the darkness consume you."

Who is 'he?'

"'He' is the one you will soon face in combat, very, very soon. Soon he will pose a very grave threat to the world…Thus, you must defeat him."

Who?

"Marxus."

Lightforce…when Light…or you…teleported us, I saw some figures in the vortex…

"The phantoms of what will be seen in your future and what you saw in your past, even if you do not remember. The phantom of the future…the one with emerald eyes…you will not see for quite some time. Oh, but know this; you will face one of the others with the scarlet eyes soon."

Who are they?

"You will see. And soon after you defeat Marxus the first time…you will have to leave this place behind."

What? Why!?

"Because soon, Team Rocket will not be safe for you…"

Shadow's eyes opened again to see that it was still dark. He looked over at Light and then Darrel, concern on his features. He noticed Light shift in her bed, her eyes looking like they were illuminated before she closed them again, falling back to sleep.

Leave this place behind…

Shadow turned in his bed, his tail sticking from under the covers as he tried to fall asleep with deep anxiety in his mind.

Why will I have to leave this place behind? It's…

Shadow shut his eyes tight, hating to think about it.

This place is all I really have…