Fort Haste: Winter

by Zencolour

Humanity has been swept clean by some unknown virus and the few survivors count themselves the unlucky ones. In a new world of mutant Pokémon, crippling winters, and a survivalist camp to run - Orion has plenty on his mind. But what if the true enemy are the deeds of his past? Rated T for violence and language.

6. Chapter 5

FH:WINTER

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"Fort Haste: WINTER" is a recount of a tale set within the Pokémon world - one in which everything has gone wrong. Here we meet the final survivors as they struggle to endure through hell and beyond. An unknown virus has wiped-out most of humanity, leaving behind children which seem to be less affected by the disease. In an attempt to preserve what remains of humanity, Fort Haste was bodged in the months following the pandemic. Even now, the settlement remains at the very heart of the ongoing apocalypse. For everything that has happened and all the trials humanity has faced - Fort Haste stands as a vision of hope.

Please note, this and following chapters will contain both narrative and speech in various dialects and languages. Anything said in Pokémon will be underlined as shown. Normal speech will remain unaffected, although italics and bold may be used for effect following standard rules. For whistle calls *…something like this…* will be used, and any random flashbacks are marked with {''}.

Fort Haste is a work of fiction written as a collaboration between ZenColour and Just-A-Reader0Love. Both are also very thankful for the additional help from Oblivion Wave Productions as our very own beta reader.

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AUTHOR NOTES

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Zen: Apologies for the delay on this beast of a chapter (~26 ka!). Things have been slow with prior commitments over the past few weeks, through the three of us have been working on a schedule to get a (shorter) chapter out monthly starting in the summer. We've been planning ahead and making sure everything is as streamlined as it can be. There may be patches from this point on where things get close to the M line, but this will remain a T rated fic.

R'Love: Same as what Zen said, sorry for taking so long. It does take a while to proofread and make sure that everything is a ok for reading when it gets time to post a new chapter of this. Not to mention that life gets in the way. This version of this chapter is also different from the first time around, ending a bit differently as well. All in all, it was fun to work with this. From this point onwards, the chapters themselves will really begin to change from the first attempt of writing fort haste. :) Also, viewer discretion is advised for this chapter in particular as it gets pretty messed up.

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HAYS SNH Version 6 (0084 PA)

Forward written by A. Good and F. I. Shostakovich [EXTRACT]

9000406227032 - Sinnoh Outreach Programme for Historical Preservation

Kanto was hit the hardest of all regions. Research suggests that a dispersed population within a predominantly rural location meant that containment zonation failed. If the virus was indeed carried by Pokémon, then a dense wild Pokémon population would spread the virus much more quickly. Isolated communities were thought to have survived in Johto for a number of months, but ultimately collapsed into anarchy during the harsh winter that followed.

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CHAPTER 5

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-SIDE A-

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An excerpt from 'Hays' Journals' I.V

Life is the most profound when it appears the most crazy

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FENN's POV

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Well. It could have been worse.

Orion hadn't been outside long when the drugs finally kicked in. I'd taken the rather controversial decision to dope his hot chocolate with zaleplon before the meeting. Nobody knew how long it would take to have an effect. Though, Jane had read the tablet pamphlet multiple times through her wide-rimmed glasses. At first the Umbreon-morph seemed unaffected, only acting slightly out of character during the extent of the meeting.

Then came the Feral alarm.

I'd put the rest down to a mix of adrenaline, cold air, and real fatigue - a nasty combination that let the drugs kick in. If I hadn't liaised with both Jeff and Mike beforehand, things could have gone a lot differently. Orion didn't give much warning before he slumped and was out stone cold. Jane almost jumped in to start performing CPR.

All that left was for Mike to half drag, half carry Orion back into the warmth of the farmhouse. The two of us had managed to get him upstairs. Roughly manhandling the morph into his bed wasn't something I had expected to be doing. Nonetheless, we managed. Mike took a step back to catch his breath. Wiping away the sweat from his face achieved little but to smudge dirt across his pale forehead. It gave me a few moments tuck the duvet over the leader of Fort Haste.

Straightening, I could already feel bruised muscle in my lower back. I sighed heavily before turning the mechanic.

'I'm assuming that was just a false alarm with the Ferals?'

Mike gave one last long look at Orion before turning to me slowly. A thin veneer of grime was smeared across one cheek and the teenager rubbed at it absentmindedly.

'Yeah. Thank God. The beasties seemed happy to skirt around us, even if they did take their sweet time. Makes a difference from fookin' suicidal spiders. Not to sound ungrateful or anything...'

Mike massaged the muscles on his shoulders. The exercise of dragging Orion's limp body had brought a red flush to his cheeks. Kicking off muddied boots, he wiggled his toes in his thick walking socks. The silence that followed dropped the atmosphere into sullen awkwardness. I could feel the elephant in the room weighing on both of our minds. Neither wanted to open the discussion itching to be articulated.

'Do you think he's going to be ok?' Mike asked at last.

The teenager ran a hand through his red hair, a combination of engine oil and sweat leaving a large cowlick. 'I know we talked about this and all agreed on it...But those pills knocked him out proper. Didn't you notice how loopy he was near the end? That didn't seem like the Orion I know.'

I sighed, unsure of how to respond. Honestly, I didn't know how those sleeping pills were going to affect the man. All we had hoped to do was force Orion to yield to his weariness and rest, giving his overworked body a chance to recover.

Rubbing at my temples seemed like an adult thing to do, but it didn't help at all. At a loss for words, I wearily gazed at Orion's sleeping form. The man was stretched out in bed, snoring softly. The idea had been to help the morph develop a sensible sleeping pattern. I didn't expect the drugs to knock him out like that on their own. I was rapidly losing my calm certainty that we'd done the right thing. Maybe the Umbreon side of Orion was allergic to the medicine designed for humans?

Mike interrupted the silence.

'Is Jane coming? I feel like she should check his pulse or something. It would put my mind at ease.'

'I'll call her up when he wakes.' I exhaled loudly, 'For now we'll let him rest.'

Orion's room was fairly cold, and I was tempted to get some more blankets to cover the sleeping Umbreon. Mike had made the call to leave him lying on his side in some mock-up of the recovery-position. That would help if he tried to vomit, or anything else equally unpleasant in his sleep. Neither of us wanted to take any risks before Jane had seen the man properly.

'This was a stupid idea wasn't it?' I asked under my breath.

Mike had been leaning at the door for a long time, reluctant to leave.

'Yeah.' He agreed, wrinkling his nose, 'It was. We'll just have to hope he takes the hint, catches up on a fortnight of missed sleep, and returns to normal. It's not like...well…' The teenager trailed off, fighting with the zip on with wax coat.

'What?' My breath fogged the air slightly. It was still chilly, even inside the house.

Mike grimaced, 'He couldn't be turning more into an Umbreon or anything could he? The virus did this to him right? Do you know if he'll turn...you know...?'

The teenager pulled his coat around him, too scared to utter the word feral unless his prophecy came true. That very thought had crossed my mind numerous times, but never seemed to fit the jigsaw. It had been accepted that the virus sometimes gave people Pokémon-like appearances. We now had at least three separate cases for that hypothesis. However, Orion seemed like an outlier. I couldn't put my finger on why.

'Do you think it's all true?' Mike said after taking a long breath. He was moving the door back and forth with a foot, leaving wet crumbs of mud over the floorboards. There was a hint of uncertainty that I'd never seen in his eyes before. Then again, we'd only been told a few minutes earlier by our very own leader that Fort Haste wouldn't make it through the winter.

At times like this, Mike wasn't one for embellishing on his emotions. Then again, I'd never seen him upset.

'I really don't know Mike. I think it might be…' I turned to study Orion's sleeping form. His face had relaxed and for once it looked like the half-Umbreon half-human was at peace. 'There's something strange going on. Nothing is adding up quite right.'

'We don't stand a chance do we? This was a folly from the start.' Mike forced out the words, denial seeping into his voice. 'Fort Haste was doomed to fail.'

'Come on Mike!' I tried to lighten my voice a little. It was difficult to lift the mood whilst scolding the teenager at the same time. 'You think we can just give up? We've survived this long. We have no choice but to keep fighting.'

The boy stared at me solidly and a little intimidatingly in his oversized wax jacket. There was a hard look in his eyes which stared into the distance. At last his eyes refocused,

'Maybe you're right.' Mike admitted, although he didn't seem to believe his own words. 'We can only do what we can.'

'It would take an army of Ferals to take out Fort Haste. And like that would ever happen.'

'I really hope you didn't just jinx it.' Mike added with a weak chuckle. It was all he could manage for my attempt at humour. 'Right. I better get going. Fort Haste doesn't run itself.' Mike excused himself, giving one last long look at the leader of our little camp.

I found a blanket for Orion and tucked the morph into bed with more attention that I'd like to admit. Previously, I had been unaware of just how skinny the man was, nor how he naturally curled up under the covers of his bed in a way that was more animalistic than human. Orion was mumbling in his sleep in what appeared to be the Pokémon speech. His lips twitched as he tossed momentarily, seeming to shrink under the covers.

The day continued on like it always did in Fort Haste.

Too much to do and never enough time to do it.

Leaving Orion to sleep for the remainder of the day, I threw myself into an hour of admin before heading over to help out with the kitchens. It was the warmest place in Fort Haste and often the most crowded. Keeping myself busy delayed the inevitable, but I still couldn't bring myself to face the reality of the situation. I had always been the type of person to throw myself into work when I wanted to forget something. Insley had also gravitated toward the kitchens, organizing the saucepans and cleaning them with startling intensity. Of all things! Neither of us talked much apart to comment on the cold. James hung round doing little else but bothering the two of us. After realizing that neither could even spare the thought to scold the kid, he sort of gave up.

Word about Orion had spread through the camp like wildfire. Not wanted to hide the truth, Jane and I had come up with the convincing lie that the man had taken sleeping pills. Well, he did. Just not voluntarily. In all fairness, the kids invented so many wacky stories and counter-plots that we were happy to play along with their wild imaginations. Making light of the situation added a level of drama to Fort Haste that made it easy to forget about the gravity of our situations. Orion was ill. That didn't mean much when there was so much work to do.

The table marked aside for the Chain lacked any mirth that suppertime. Each of us refused to bring up the conversation at the front of our minds.

Matt had simply sat with his head down, he ears drooped sadly as he pushed food round his plate. If the others had a tail to hang limply, I think we all would have looked the same as the once-upon-a-time Pokémon trainer. Bass and Mike were in conversation about something, but I wasn't in the mood to join in. Insley hadn't even joined us, preferring instead to stick to the kitchens where she was solely in charge.

Orion was still asleep when I checked on him one last time before bed. Jane had left a small glass of water besides his bed, as well as drawing the curtains firmly. A single candle had been left burning on the bulky chest of draws with the hopes that the light would stop any nocturnal tendencies the Umbreon-morph possessed.

I slept poorly that night.

Matt didn't even sleep at all. Strangely, he appeared to be the most upset out of all of us. The floorboards from the floor above creaked as he seemed to pace the room. Jane had diagnosed the teenager with SAD only a few days ago, blaming the condition of the natural grass-type that the boy had now become. The lack of sunlight was driving the former trainer into a permanent state of fatigue. When he wasn't sleeping, he was mooching about in a half daze. He still did his part, but barely. Sentry duty was better for the boy, but he still struggled to stay focused. Bass was the only one able to lift the boy's spirit. She'd got the morph involved with some craft projects. I was still worried for the boy.

Orion woke only once, just before lunch. During the lucid moment he seemed like a man possessed, behaving more like an Pokémon than a human being. Each time I perched on the edge of the bed he would come over, pushing his face up closer and curling round me gently. The motion was protective, though the man seemed unaware of his actions. It was like having a kitten lying on your lap and I struggled to drag myself away. How could I tell the man that Jane had diagnosed him with some kind of weird dissociative disorder, as well as anxiety. In truth, I had no idea what the former meant.

The third day was a real struggle.

Orion awoke once more, but hadn't yet seemed to break out of his Umbreon-like behaviours. He barely ate, only drinking when I stuck a bowl of water under his nose. Much like the Pokémon whose features he shared, the boy lapped up the liquid gently. Upon returning around midday I found him lying on the floor beneath the locked window, breathing heavily. His rings were glowing brightly, so much so that they were hard to look at directly.

Having abandoned the warmth of his bed, it was only a few minutes later that I found out why. I'm surprised I didn't notice sooner. The smell of feces might have gave it away. Apparently locking Orion up in his room wasn't such a good idea after all. After replacing the sheets and finding some plastic to cover the mattress in case the same happened again, I woke the Umbreon. Still under the effects of the medication, he only stayed sane long enough for me to clean him and brush down his fur carefully.

Jane had a list of symptoms which she studied it meticulously, running through potential issues with the man. The sleeping pills should have worked out of his system days ago. Orion still behaved as if under the influence - completely lost to himself and the world. I could only hope that he didn't respond to all medication like this.

Steadily the possibility that Orion wasn't going to recover starting creeping up on us.

I didn't know what to do anymore.

Orion's eyes had morphed into a blood red gaze that lacked any sensitivity. A cold stare that turned into a fierce growl when Mike turned up to visit. The morph had pulled himself out of bed, fur on end and tail lashing in the air aggressively as if to scare away the teenager. I didn't know who was more offended, Mike or Orion. I alone seemed capable of calming the morph, although later experimentation found that Matt also had a similar effect. The Leafeon-morph explained that Orion's Pokémon babble was incoherent even to him. When I was there, Orion would brighten briefly and almost return to his former self. It was like a fire had been lit inside. But it never lasted long. The man no longer slept on his bed, instead choosing to curl up next to the door as if waiting my next arrival. Each time I entered, usually over a dozen times a day, he became clingy. Curling against me, Orion would whine each time I went to leave.

I was struggling to hold myself together.

It had already been four days and I couldn't bear it anymore. Even Mike was starting to give me dirty looks, not to mention Insley and even Bass! It had been my suggestion and now I was facing the consequences. Thankfully angriness wasn't in Mike's nature, but his aura of disappointment was even worse.

Hauser had offered his advice and council. But just like the others, Orion freaked out when the Pokémon entered. I never expected for the boy to growl nor yowl as loudly as he did. We got the point fairly quickly. After a few tries the aged Lucario gave up trying, promising to help solve the mystery remotely. In all fairness, I didn't really trust Hauser at face value. The sudden appearance of the Pokémon was a little too coincidental. My nerves only started to dissipate when Jane explained how much of a help the steel-type had been in the medical ward.

The two had teamed up to solve the enigma that Orion had quickly become. As a result, both seemed to being doing their utmost to avoid me.

In fact, nearly everyone was. Even James.

After organizing with the rest of the Chain a secluded evening, I did my best to shower the morph. With the rest of camp occupied with a theatre-night, mainly to ease tension from the previous close call with Ferals, I snuck Orion under the cover of darkness into the shower block. It was nerve-racking at first, but Orion seemed to be more than happy to be dragged outside. With his tail wagging wildly, he followed close behind me like some well-trained animal. He didn't notice the tears as I washed him down and dressed him in a fresh pair of clothes that didn't stink of sweat and urine.

I knew things were always getting worse, but Orion's sudden loss of humanity was as unsettling as it was terrifying. Any hope of a rapid recovery was quickly fading as I found my doubts more and more difficult to silence.

It was then that I had an idea.

Well I call it that, it was in truth an act of desperation. Either that or madness, it didn't matter at this point. Anything to bring Orion back and fill the hole in my chest. Just knowing that everything was my fault was eating into my very bones. The warm but vacant expression in Orion's eyes hurt more than anything had ever done before.

Our very own resident Lucario still managed to remain elusive. Hauser had fitted into the Fort Haste routine with ease, choosing to work closely either teaching first aid with Jane and some of the older teenagers, or training in the K'field with Jeff. At mealtimes, the Lucario would eat quickly with the Chain before excusing himself and joining in with sentry duty. At any other time, I would have really appreciated the obvious commitment Hauser was displaying in helping Fort Haste. But I was overworked, overtired, and too anxious to be anything but paranoid. To me, it was as if he was trying to make himself scarce.

Time dragged as I completed my chores robotically, mind too exhausted to put my heart into anything.

It was nearly by accident that I finally managed to corner the Lucario.

Hauser had been running an errand for Insley at the time. The two had got on rather well, with the aged Pokémon rapidly picking up on the teenager's blunt humour. Tasked with grabbing a few more kitchen supplies from the library storeroom, the Lucario had been to forced to seek me out. There were a limited number of keys to the downstairs room, so it wasn't out of the ordinary. That didn't stop my mouth from dropping open in surprise when the Pokémon shuffled into the meeting room. Having been elbow-deep in records of our food consumption, I jumped at the sudden disturbance.

A black mask of fur decorated the muzzle of the Pokémon who looked at me a little shamefully with his dark red eyes. Grey hairs flecked an otherwise pristine coat. His fur was puffed up, protecting the Pokémon from the cold. If I hadn't felt a natural disdain for the Lucario, he might have looked kind of cute.

'Hauser. Finally...We need to talk.'

Keeping the aggression, or was it desperation, out of my voice was difficult, but I managed.

'Of course…' Hauser seemed a little unsure of himself. Rubbing at the fur on his chest, he brushed himself off with marked awkwardness. It was a while before he replied. 'First of all, I've been asked to pick something up for Insley. Maybe afterwards…?'

He trailed off but I waved away his worry,

'Yeah it's fine Hauser. We'll sort that out.'

The Lucario was watching me expectantly. Matt had explained how the Pokémon was able to read the emotions of others, even going as far as seeing the future moves of others in battle. I'd put it down to exaggeration like everything else you saw in the movies. Then again, the ancient Lucario was supposedly a member of Vetra. What did it matter? So much had gone to shit in the world, I was starting to believe that anything was possible.

'Uh Fenn?'

I tried to make light of the fact I'd spent the last minute staring emptily at a wall.

Clearing my throat and I threw myself down the buneary hole.

'It's about Orion. I think we need your help.'

'Orion?' Hauser verified, his left eye twitching, 'What for?'

I explained my plan as briefly as I could, the Lucario nodding slowly.

And that's where it all started.

Insley had once again demanded another few kitchen knives and some peelers. Hauser told me it was to make preparing dinner easier - though I guessed it was an attempt to get more children into the warmth of the kitchens. The cold was like a cloud that seeped in the very fabric of Fort Haste. Helping prepare dinner was a cheap but effective excuse to get more kids somewhere they didn't need to shiver for warmth.

A few impatient hours later and Hauser returned to the farm house smelling distinctively of potatoes. I had to laugh at the flour mingled in with his fur. He looked more white than grey now, brushing away the years as he combed through his tufty fur. Overly large steel-tipped paws weren't well made for pulling baking materials out of his coat.

Already I had talked myself out of my plan, back into it, and then decided against it once more. I had hoped Hauser would put these worries to rest. Instead, he seemed intent on doing the opposite.

Orion's room suddenly felt very claustrophobic.

'I must warn you,' The Lucario spoke gently. 'Things may be hard to grasp. I don't fully agree with what you're asking...but even I'm starting to get very worried now.'

He rubbed at his nose,

'We are going through the aura of his past. You may see things differently to what you normally would. When you visit someone's aura you're not seeing memories strictly. Still. Just make sure they don't consume you. In the event that that begins to happen...we'll worry about it later.'

He paused, looking at me wistfully.

'I cannot say what we will find. It may not be pleasant. Are you sure about this?'

I nodded my head immediately, hoping that the show of willingness would hide the strong river of doubt flowing through me. To say I wasn't scared was a lie, though "terror" would be more descriptive. This wasn't a good idea. But sometimes you had to do stupid things for the right reasons. Yet another one of Fenn's stupid mistakes to add to the list. Great.

Hauser managed to lift an eyebrow, the black mask-like fur covering his snout now looked menacing.

'You understand? Good. You will be piggybacking on my own aura and won't be in contact with his mind directly. In and out alright? We're going to find out what the problem is...not fishing around in his past.'

Did I understand? No. But it was a stupid idea to try and lie to a Pokémon who could read your mind. I reddened upon realizing this fact and choked on my tongue as I tried to add further explanation to the situation. Hauser simply interrupted anyway.

'You still sure about this?'

'YES' I growled, giving the Pokémon a flat look.

We made eye contact and in that instant I realised that Hauser let very little slip past his judgement. You didn't need to be a mind reader to see the battle inside of me. The Pokémon was giving me the easy way out but I was too prideful to accept it.

I wondered if I would ever regret this decision

Hauser smoothed his fur down gently before turning to Orion. The Umbreon-morph was curled up on his bed, breathing softly. I was scared that he would have woken with the two of us chatting. Instead Orion seemed to twitch and turn, golden rings faintly illuminating the dark room. He'd been doing that a lot recently. The morph had his tail wrapped around him, his ears resting haphazardly against his head. A few weeks ago and I would have thought the position cute. Now it meant something completely different.

Hauser perched on the edge of the bed. I had prepared two chairs and gently placed them down next to the mattress. The Lucario took one gratefully, before motioning me into the spare.

'Sit. We need to have contact.'

His glowing red eyes watched me steadily,

'I will be reading his aura. What you will see is what I project from my mind into your own. Understand?'

I nodded,

Hauser still felt the need to reiterate,

'You will not be within his aura, only I will. Please remember this.'

I nodded again, a little fearful of both the Pokémon in front of me and what he would be attempting. I'd never even heard of this being possible until a few days ago. If I didn't know any better, this would play out just like the second Vetra movie. Things turned out badly for the team of heros. To say that it caused a few nightmares would be an understatement - though perhaps that was because I was barely ten at the time. What would it even feel like to be thrown into Orion's mind?

With a deep breath, I reached out and took Hauser's paw.

I tried to breath but I wasn't able to.

The last thing I saw of reality was Hauser's blood red eyes, a cast of utter calm upon a backdrop of blue on black. his fur rippled like grass, a sea of diamonds which cascaded into vertigo. Endlessly, I seemed to fall into those eyes - sinking away into a abstract mural of nothingness.

My thoughts no longer seemed to be my own.

Silence

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-AZURE-

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I collapsed onto the floor, panting like hell.

'Come on Orion…' My ears twitched at the voice, body crying out to respond to the command. However, my eyes were closed even as I fought for each breath. My side stung with a firey pain and I whined in fear at the wound sliced across on my heel. It was a gash that seemed to reach bone in my mind. The blood was already congealing.

'Stay awake...please!' I heard Jenny begging of me.

Opening my eyes, I found her face mere inches away from my own. Backing off only made things worse as the joints in my shoulders ground like rock on sandpaper. Everything hurt as I felt my vision grow dark. Making sense of the protective barrier between us took time.

What just happened?

I could almost see her tears through the reinforced perspex

'Hurts…' I muttered through the pain. 'Je...Hurts…'

'I know Orion, hold on.' Jenny begged of me again, barely audible; 'It's ok...'

Some time passed in blackness rather than light. I felt myself being lifted up by a white-coated man and carried away. His face was concealed by a dust filter and eyes hidden by glasses, no emotion flickering through my moments of lucidity. His footsteps jarred the tightness across my body. Everything stung and I shut my eyes tightly, closing out reality with a flicker. Keeping track of time consisted of waiting in shadow. A rapture of utter satire. I seemed to fall into blackness.

For a second I remembered that this was not me. I was not this person. But as quickly as that thought came, it was gone again. Being consumed by the darkness was not an option, but I was swallowed whole.

A splitting headache followed.

Concrete.

I became aware of myself lying on the cell floor. Groaning, I felt the drugs in my system wearing off. With it returned reality and pain ricocheting through my body. A wash of scents wafted into my nose and with it the knowledge that I was back in my pen.

Forcing myself awake, I checked myself over with a practiced eye and rapid efficiency. There was a large bandage wrapped round my middle, covering the burn down my side and lower back. My leg was caked in dry blood. A row of neat stitches held together skin which was already meshing over. It would hurt even more when they have to remove them.

Superficially everything seemed recoverable and I let that thought comfort me for a few moments. Deep down I knew that with any other body, I should have been dead by now.

After pushing aside the numbing pain in my torso, I turned my attention to the cramped cell that we called home. My voice was only a whisper in the darkness.

'Mother?'

The Umbreon had been curled up against my side all along, her ears perking up as she heard my voice.

'How do you feel?' the Eeveelution asked, flicking a bit of straw from off her muzzle. They used the material as bedding, though it did little to keep us off the cold stone below. Pushing myself up a seated position, it was all I could do not to growl in frustration. My shock collar felt heavy and bulky against my neck.

'Better?' My mother asked again, prompting some form of response.

'I guess.' I muttered, 'At least it's a full moon.'

'And your one hundred and sixtieth one at that. That makes you nearly thirteen!' mother replied, now closing her eyes. Pushing myself into a crouch, I half limped towards the window. A combination of metal bars and glass hid the universe from my eyes, only a glimmer of light remained. The moon was large and was just in view, shining coldly upon my face.

I lay for hours, curled up in the light of the natural satellite. The straw wasn't as good as the old mattress I used to have. My back was sore as hell but it gradually merged into the numb pain that was my continual existence. Resting my head down on the bedding, I felt the warm body of my mother now curled up against me.

'It's going to be fine, little Moonrise.' I couldn't help but smile at the name my mother always called me.

'But what will Melissa do to me? I blacked out in that last…'

'Hush, morning will bring what it brings.'

I was always comforted by that comment. Knowing that there was little I was truly in control of. It was something I hated, but had come to accept. You could only do what you could. Melissa would decide what happens and I would have to do her bidding. That's what Pokémon like me did.

Right?

'Sleep Moonrise,' Mother murmured to me as I gradually closed my eyes.

I curled up tighter, mutterinly tiredly, 'Good night Mother.'

The Umbreon yawned loudly, snuggling up to my chest. I wrapped my tail around myself and sank my face into the black and yellow fur. The latter was faintly glowing with a golden light.

At least I'd always have her by my side.

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-AZURE-

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Even now it was a struggle to fight my way out of that dark embrace. Things appeared to be latched, soldered, and glued to each other. The memoires a snare and fiddle. Makeshift music with neither tune nor conductor.

The cell door clicked and I looked up as it opened.

Melissa cast a long shadow across my pen. I trembled beneath her harsh glare. By now I'd learnt to cower before her, unless she decided that I wasn't truly committed to being her Pokémon. My Mother had sat up slightly, her eyes fixed on the appearance of my human trainer. Outwardly, the Umbreon appeared uncaring, a steeled expression which I tried to copy.

Jumping to my feet, it seemed useless attempting to remove the bits of straw clinging to my scruffy clothes. My trainer wouldn't care anyhow. The remote to my collar was clasped tightly in her hands.

'I trust you will do better today…' Melissa hissed, eyeing me up and down. She was probably still furious. But I wouldn't mess up today! I would show her.

I hung my head even lower and followed the woman through the door. Mother followed behind, speaking softly.

'Good luck'

'Thanks' I replied under my breath. Melissa seemed to smirk at this. In fact, she stopped for a moment as if she was going to say something. I cowered again, not wanting to raise my eyes unless to risk punishment. She told me it was tough love. I knew it for being the harsh master she was.

Thankfully, Melissa carried on and I trailed behind. Soon we were in the small room overlooking the area where my training took place.

Jenny was already there.

I felt drawn to her large almond eyes. Out of everybody, she was the one that cared for me. I'd always known her, and couldn't remember a time before the girl had been hanging around at the fringes of my life. Jenny was Melissa's daughter and thus by extension, also a superior. Yet she never behaved as such, even now as she watched me with a hauntingly silent expression of pity. I never got why she did that. Was I doing something wrong?

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-AZURE-

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Aura was tumbling about us and it was hard to pull myself above the current. It was like a Hydropump to the stomach as I forced to keep my head above the current. Vaguely I was aware of Hauser but such a concept was swept away in the current. Nothing made sense anymore. The intensity of the experience was too strong. Turned double, vision twisted, and I was once again falling.

Orion's eyes failed to meet my own.

To be honest, he seemed to be looking better. However, I knew that the boy's true emotions were a different matter. Orion had rapidly learnt to hide his own thoughts and feelings with a hard exterior. That didn't mean that we couldn't hear him howling last night. The sounds had reverberated through the whole compound.

The fact that he'd started the habit once more made me worry. Sometimes Orion would fall into a state when he completely lost his human side - behaving very much the Umbreon he was trained to be. The first time it happened I'd feared Mother had broken the poor boy. By now we'd learnt to wait it out. In a few days the boy would steadily recover his sanity as if nothing had happened. It was a strange coping mechanism the hybrid had.

Knowing that didn't make it any easier.

'Morning!' I welcomed the Umbreon-morph warmly as he sat down. The boy's face was downcast, ears drawn back in what was clearly a determined expression. I could tell he was getting in the zone - waiting to go inside and battle again. Every day was the same. A negative feedback loop of eating, sleeping, and training.

The morph wiggled on the steel bench, like he was trying to pull his attention out of himself. I was comforted by this, knowing that he'd kept his head for the time being. Only yesterday the Umbreon had been knocked out by a full-power flamethrower. If it wasn't for a hasty Protect, it was questionable whether Orion would have survived the burns. So much energy was involved in the simulations that I was surprised he had enough strength to withstand the batterings.

One wrong move and he would have been dead.

'Feeling better?' I asked, unsure of what response to expect.

'Yeah' he grunted, checking his left hip where the fire had forced through the shield. I couldn't help but notice how big the fraying grey clothes looked on his skinny body. There wasn't much beyond muscle and sinew clinging to his bones.

Orion's rings glowed slightly.

'Are you ready?' I asked him.

None of the tech guys were here to aid and I took it in my hands to help the boy avoid my mother's wrath. Sure. They felt bad for Orion, but for them it was either his suffering or their paycheck. Money talks. There was a reason that all of this could happen in the first place - and why it hadn't been shut down. It was something I'd learnt not to think about too much, well tried to at least.

Looking up and our eyes met briefly, before Orion turned towards the gate. A red light flashed over the doorway into the training dome, the signal pulsing angrily as if to announce that the boy was already late. Orion pulled himself to his feet, his collar looking stupidly big as it hung loosely around his neck. The capacitors were bulky and could easily kill a man. It was meant to tame Garchomps for God's sake!

My mother Melissa arrived a few minute late, but was more focused on Orion than her very own daughter. She pretty much grabbed the boy, tugging him over the arena while talking furiously into his ear.

'Good luck' I whispered to myself.

All I could do now was take a seat by the window and watch. The treated, bullet-proof glass looked down and across the bleak training arena. Concrete formed round walls, forming a dome at the ceiling, brightly lit by white LED strip lights. The electronic systems that drove the training simulations were bolted the the ceiling. Those densely-wired black boxes were the source of most the Umbreon's misery. As per usual, Orion was chained up and left alone in the huge room.

The morph had shifted into a somewhat feral position. The chains held him down to prevent any escape, as well as the reinforced concrete and four inches of glass separating us. This enclosure was to protect us from him as much as anything else. That's what you got when training a hybridised living weapon meant to rival the Gods themselves. It was a bunker to keep the morph contained inside.

I waited, my heart thumping like crazy.

A low frequency hum announced that the simulation was loading. Not a second later and Orion's chains fell away. The motion's the hybrid went through were scarily natural, his tail wagging slightly in anticipation. Even now the electronics were charging up at Orion prepared himself for the inevitable. He relaxed into a battle stance, staring down the oncoming battle like he had done nearly every day of short life. The morph's ears were perked up, arms and legs tense as he waited in what appeared to be poorly concealed eagerness.

It was almost as if he enjoyed it!

For a second the lights dimmed and the domed room seemed to hum. It was a sound that you heard through your feet as the huge robotics equipment driving the simulation kicked into gear.

In a flash the hologram materialised.

Across the other end of the training arena stood one of the largest legendaries of all time. I could only identify it as some kind of dragon, it's scaly body shimmering briefly before seeping into reality. The beast roared, towering over the small Umbreon at nearly ten feet tall.

The expertly created illusion appeared to be synchronous with the mechanics of the arena. Moving with ease, the dragon could have been a real Pokémon as it dived into battle. It bellowed blue liquid fire out its mouth, the hologram matching the one-point-two-one gigawatt flamethrower which burnt too hot to look at. Orion doged expertly, rolling to save momentum before retaliating with a flash of black energy at the beast. Even this early on in the battle, it was clear that the hybrid was tired. His injury from the day before meant he lagged a few second behind his usual self. Catching a lightning bolt with the pearly-white shield of a Protect, he only just managed to side-step the dragon as it launched forward for a brutal melee attack. Dodging a burst of flame by scaling the wall of the arena, it was clear that Orion was struggling.

The mock battle lasted for about two minutes. The machines at work throughout the arena created the simulation flawlessly - up to the point that Orion was even biting and scratching at the dragon in an attempt to fight-off the legendary. At one point the boy completed an unusual tactic where he disappeared completely. There was a brief interlude before the dark-type materialized out of the air itself. The AI of the illusion wasn't prepared for the surprise blow from behind, failing to counter the Umbreon. Orion's eyes were narrowed red slits as he unleashed a wave of attacks at his enemy.

The photons of the hologram shimmered under the bombardment.

Orion almost seemed to be winning as this toppled the huge dragon with a Dark Pulse. However, he wasn't prepared for retaliation from the illusion. Even as it stumbled, the pretend-legendary released a Thunderbolt that struck the hybrid as he dived for cover. The tesla-coil hidden in the hologram connected to the Umbreon-morph with a bone-shattering CRACK. A millisecond later and the boy was thrown backwards, splatting against the wall with the scent of ozone floating through the aircon.

Without warning, the Umbreon disappeared.

It was like he had sunk into the shadows themselves.

Somehow the boy had survived the electricity and was now once again coming at the Legendary from behind. The bogus creature was still flailing in an attempt to pick itself up from the the last blow. Already it was toppling as the morph skidded to a stop on all fours. He was breathing heavily. With obvious pain he stumbled onto his feet to stand over the hologram, smoke trailing off his burnt fur. The boy was visibly shaking and panting with harsh breaths. A shadow ball started to spark in one hand but it died suddenly. Even with the victory placed before him, the hybrid couldn't find the energy to launch the killing blow.

It was then that Orion collapsed.

He slid off on to his hands and feet, slumping to the side as his body went limp. The sensors in his collar picked up the sudden lack of response, cutting the signal to the simulation. In front of him, the illusion died and the legendary disappeared. The smoking flamethrower retracting into the ceiling indicated that his training was now over.

The unconscious form of the boy was splayed out on the dirty arena floor.

Automatic shut-down features opened the blast doors a few seconds later.

I was still in too much shock to respond. Something like this had never happened before. Orion hadn't been taking out fighting - he'd given up due to exhaustion. The boy had the opportunity to steal the victory but had faltered at the moment it mattered most. The whole reason for his existence was the reputation that Umbreon's had for endurance. It was unreal that Orion had simply run out of stamina - Impossible even.

The LED lighting flared slightly as the electric feed to the arena stabilised.

And that's when mother boldly walking in. Not into the observatory to see me, but into the arena itself. She strode across the scarred stone floor like a woman possessed, almost too fast for me to react. Her strides were big, face red with anger. That threw mercy out the window. It was clear my mother was going to do something terrible.

I flicked the intercom on, knowing that I had mere moments to get involved.

'Orion? Please respond!' I called loudly through the microphone, having to lean forward to speak into the receiver. 'ORION?'

But it didn't work - how could it? The boy was out cold.

My mother's voice came through the speaker as the intercom transmitted everything going on within the arena.

'That. Was. Not. Good. ENOUGH!' Melissa was struggling to control her anger. My insides did a somersault, knowing just how cruel she could be. 'Look what pain does to such a pathetic thing as you. You think you understand REAL pain. YOU GIVE UP ON ME AFTER EVERYTHING I'VE DONE FOR YOU?'

She inched closer to Orion who lay crumpled on the floor.

'This is how you repay me? You FAILED.'

I cringed as she gave a sharp kick to the boy's stomach. He twitched but was otherwise unable to respond to the torment.

'Vermin.' Melissa hissed loudly, as she reared her leg back, aiming for his spleen .

Orion took the impact with a groan, a flicker of his tail indicating that he was coming back around. This was getting too much and I dived for the exit, only to find the steel door had been locked from the outside. Swearing, I tried to call up security only for the line to run dead. What the hell was going on?

Orion was stirring and I pressed the intercom to send a message again.

There was no signal.

'Oh God no … '

Slamming on the glass was useless as I was forced to watch the situation unfold. Melissa had gone rogue again and I watched as she tormented the hybridised Umbreon even further. It was stupid really, given what occurred last time. During that event he'd hospitalized three members of security before finally being tranquilized.

'Vermin!' Mellisa's mocking voice was alarmingly hollow.

Orion pushed himself onto all fours once more, golden rings flickering eerily as he stumbled. The exertion from that act alone was causing sweat to bead across his face. Melissa didn't seem impressed by the feeble act, swinging out a foot to continue her brutal attack. The reactions of the Morph saved him however, dodging to the side not a moment too soon. He turned to face the woman in a strangely Pokémon-like manor, breaking out into a deep growl. Orion's already burnt black fur stood on end as he bared his pointed teeth, refusing to submit to the beating.

Melissa's grin only grin wider,

'Oh, so now you fight back...Where was that EARLIER!"

I hit the glass with my fists, praying that this wasn't happening. Had the entire world gone insane?

Orion stood up slowly, obviously in immense pain, back onto two feet. With his ears drawn back aggressively, his more human stance made the boy seem bigger than he really was. Even with the ragged grey clothes hanging from his frame, the animalistic and increasingly venomous glare he gave the woman was terrifying. Purple energy crackled around his form.

Melissa took a slow step back, scrabbling in her pocket before yanking out a back object. My mother held the controller to the hybrid's collar in her hand like a weapon. She waved the plastic remote in front of her, displaying the item blatantly in front of the morph.

'STAND DOWN.' She yelled at the Umbreon. 'STAND DOWN!'

Orion was still inching closer, bent over with his hands raising into an obvious defensive stance. Fragments of purple energy were shimmering around his fists, forming neat Shadow Claws which dripped ghost-type blobs like blood running down his forearms.

'Orion, you wouldn't dare.' Melissa's voice shook slightly, 'Stand. DOWN!'

The boy's ears flickered, but he shook his head as if clearing it of bad thoughts. He eyed the woman aggressively, clearly focused on the small controller clasped in her white fingers. Orion had been at the tail-end of the device enough times to know that, even like this, it was the cause of all his misery.

Melissa twitched the remote around in front of the hybrid, watching as the demonic Umbreon-morph followed the object with his eyes.

The low rumble of a growl could be heard reverberating through the intercom.

Was blood thicker than water?

Without warning, Melissa threw the remote.

The plastic bounced across the hard concrete with a soft thud. Instantly Orion was on the device, diving down to exterminate the source of his agony. He crunched the plastic between his teeth. Shaking the technology furiously and shards of the remote, along with frayed wires, made a small clouds of particles. As if to make a point, Orion spat out what remained before turning his blood red eyes to his trainer. Baring his fang-like teeth, he bellowed at my mother. His tail rose, legs slipping back into a more natural four-legged stance.

It was obvious that Orion had slipped into his battle stance. Reasoning did not exist when he was like this, only following directives from Melissa. Orion in this mode was a weapon guided to do whatever was desired. His sanity was near nonexistent, instincts overriding logic as his brain tried to fight or flee the singular threat.

It appeared that the morph had chosen the former.

'Don't do it.' I whispered, 'Orion please…you don't understand…'

Melissa towered over the Umbreon. In the time it had taken him to destroy the controller to his bulky leather shock-collar, she'd taken a few large steps backwards. Orion quickly made up this ground, stepping forwards with his back arched, golden rings flashing as a clear distraction. Dark place energy seemed to be dripping off his body, as well as the purple sludge-like sweat which Umbreon's naturally produced.

Having destroyed the device which the boy assumed controlled his collar, Orion was free to hunt Melissa. He prowled forwards, eyes glazed over and utterly focused on his target.

'Activate collar...ACTIVATE COLLAR!' I could hear my mother's voice over the intercom.

Banging at the glass did nothing, and I frantically searched for some type of override on the control panel. The observation room was nearly empty of such technology, and I felt bile beginning to form at the back of my throat.

Orion was moving slowly, though the faint amount of tension building his legs hinted at what was to come. Melissa had been backing away slowly but her motions betrayed her disregard for the situation. The hybrid hadn't yet twigged that something wasn't quite right. Already, he had narrowed the distance to a few metres. Then with a fluid explosion of muscle, he leapt at Melissa. Tongues of ghost-energy had formed the claws around his hands again. Orion dived towards the human with his teeth bared.

'SHOCK!' Melissa shouted even as the hybrid lunged for her throat.

There was a sharp beep from the collar. Orion, who had previously been mid air as he surged towards the woman, now seemed to hit a brick wall. His body spasmed as he dropped hard against the concrete. The momentum from his leap meant that the hybrid slid along the arena floor a few feet past his intended target. A turbulent cloud of dust rose from his wake. Orion was paralyzed and unable to complain as his arms and legs had contorted with the burst of electricity.

Melissa was audibly gasping for air.

'No.' I whispered to myself, and then louder, 'NO!'

Frantically searching for anything that would get me out of this room, I decided instead to simply smash the activation panel until something happened. Kicking at the row of buttons, something finally gave and as the steel door behind clanged open.

That didn't meant I didn't hear my mother once again activate the voice-control in Orion's collar.

'SHOCK.' The word echoed across the intercom. There was a pause at what I could only image was her watching the small boy writhe in pain, 'Vermin. You dare...'

By the time that it took me to head down two flights of stairs and into the loading room, the medics were already there. Melissa was stood off to the side getting some doctor's attention for claims of 'mild trauma'. I only had daggers for eyes as I used the chaos to sneak into the arena itself. As of yet, no one had risked entering.

Orion was curled up in the centre of the dome, shivering.

The hybrid was still cowering, helpless on the floor as I tiptoed forwards. The smell of burnt hair and singed flesh was disgusting, tickling at my nostrils as I fought down the urge to throw up. Black burn marks littered the stone floor.

Orion didn't seem to be aware of what was going on - least of all myself. Crouching down, I pushed away any second thoughts before going to comfort the boy. Blood was already seeping out from the charred spot where the Thunderbolt had hit. The grey material of his clothing had been burnt away, leaving a fraying hole and exposing the wound. Orion's red eyes were half closed, face scrunched up in an attempt to fight the pain. Already, I could see the black and purple bruises round his neck forming from the constriction of the collar.

Orion's eyes narrowed upon finally resolving me through the red cloud of pain.

'It's ok.' I soothed in a rather uncertain tone, 'It's ok.'

Distrust floated across his expression. For a brief moment his lips twitched as if to expose his teeth. I could see his attempt to pull himself away from me - but the pain must have been too much. He rasped, choking out a rough noise with a wince.

'It's ok Orion, it's me'

The Umbreon stared at me, his pupils growing into large saucers.

'That's right. It's me. I'm not going to hurt you.'

His pained whining was agony for the both of us.

'It's going to be ok.' I spoke softly, looking around for help. Even now, the medics hadn't yet dared to enter the arena. That left me with no other voice. Keeling down, I squeezed my arms under the body and gently lifted him up. At first I expected the worst, cringing away from the boy even as I carried him back to the entrance. Thankfully Orion didn't attempt any further attacks, instead he closed his eyes and finally gave into to fatigue.

Already, I could feel the toxic sweat leaching out from his skin. It made my arms itchy.

Carrying him gently, I steered the two of us towards the medical bay.

I couldn't let this go on any longer.

---

-AZURE-

---

The world seemed to stutter then.

Tumbling forward into nothing, it was difficult to describe the motion without anything to contrast it to. A blue screen had been thrown up to dilute the image. Ocean waves towering and crashing over us. Who was I? What was I? I felt like I was being ripped out of my body.

We floated, watching the world like some strange television camera.

Time blurred past, rocketing backwards as if in rewind. The grinding of tape on reels was the only sound as we gyrated, thrown through images of the past like sailing on a rough sea. Waves of blue aura cascading through the halls of memory. Scraps were taken and mushed together, filling in the tumult and roaring aggression that became mangled in the storm. There was nothing to discern even as I gasped for air.

Things stilled momentarily.

A boy and girl looked through a shallow screen of glass and into the room beyond. The place was clinical and white washed, an utterly sterile environment. The plain walls seemed bare of anything except doors. Medical equipment was placed on small trolleys. Machines of steel and plastic too complex to understand.

The girl looked like she could have been six or seven, with almond eyes. The boy looked a few years older, although this extra maturity failed to show on his young face. Even with darker brown hair compared to her pale umber, it was clear that he was her brother.

Turning to the boy, the girl spoke quietly.

'He's going to be alright isn't he? Mother said he's the one that's going to help us.'

Through the glass was a small room, tiny compared to the rest of the compound. Their breath fogged the window as both stood on tiptoe to get a good look inside. Beyond was a small operating theatre, the layout fitted the appearance of a Pokémon centre. However, it lacked the warmth of the hospitals. There was no colour to break-up the endless cleanroom environment. Both could regoncise at least some of the veterinary instruments placed smartly on the tables inside.

In the centre of the room, lying on a steel workbench, was a small boy. He didn't look too much younger than the girl, so perhaps five or six years of age given his tiny size. It was unusual to see the child curled up within what was otherwise a medical bay for healing Pokémon. What was even more unusual, was the pair of large Umbreon ears that protruded from messy black hair. Not only that, but a sleek furry trailed from the base of his spine. Gold decorated his pristine black fur.

The boy cuddled up to his tail cutely, a white blanket covering much of his pale skin.

At last, her brother spoke. He jutted out his jaw as if faking disinterest. Yet his bright grey eyes told a different story.

'Mother says he will.' He spoke calmly, before reaffirming more sternly 'Of course he will! He's going to be so powerful that he'll take on the Gods and win! That's what Mother says.'

'But he's so small!' The girl complained, 'Will he really bring Daddy back?'

Her brother fell silent. He was old enough to know that such a subject was better left alone.

For a long time they simply stared at the boy.

That was, until time span forward. Things blurred and tumbled once more until a steady place was reached. Expanding outwards, it was if another scene was pulling me inwards. We had a bird-eye view of the sprawling compound and industrial estate beyond. The trees shifted in colour from green to orange to brown. Snow appeared and then melted in an instant - the seasons flashing past the only marker of time.

It stopped as quickly as it began.

The woman was quite tall, with long ginger hair cascading down onto her shoulders. Walking by her side was a skinny black-haired child, chortling away to himself as he pulled at the woman's arm feverently. Bending down was an obvious chore for Melissa, but she held the boy's hand nonetheless. The grip seemed a little too harsh, for he was struggling to keep his feet on the ground. It was apparent that this wasn't a motherly gesture.

The boy looked older than he had before, his small frame seeming to be a natural blend of his human and Pokémon characteristics. Umbreon ears poked out of the boy's head, his hair roughly cut so that patches appear longer in some places. Loose grey clothes hung off his small body - making him look like an underaged prision convict.

Melissa nearly dragged the boy as he stopped suddenly, nose twitched at some unknown scent in the air. Orion skipped across the floor as he was tugged onwards, nail marks left in his wrists as he was firmly placed back on the ground.

'Come on Orion. Pay attention!'

They crossed another white-walled hallway before Melissa found the door she was looking for. There was nothing on the orange veneer of the entrance to indicate anything special about the room inside. Even so, she brandished a key and quickly opened the lock.

The LEDs inside flashed a couple of times before the room was basked in clinical white light.

It was clear that the door merely opened into a small storage cupboard. However, inside was a small sleeping Pokémon. The sleek black Umbreon was loosely chained to a small filing cabinet, although she rapidly woke upon hearing the intrusion. Stumbling slightly, the boy scurried towards the weary Pokémon. Her crimson eyes watched the hybrid with interest until, without warning, Orion yelped loudly.

Melissa grabbed the boy's ringed tail to drag him backwards. Wrestling frantically, the pain suddenly became unbearable and the hybrid reached out his hands towards the Eeveelution. Orion whined loudly.

'Calm DOWN Orion.' Melissa hissed. The boy didn't listen however, still struggling in her grip.

At last, his trainer gave up.

'Well here she is. You said you'd only stop misbehaving if you saw her.'

The previously sleeping Umbreon watched wearily at the ongoing on the hard floor of the white room was likely uncomfortable, for she pulled herself to her feet. Seeing the pair for the first time brought a huff of surprise to her muzzle. The boy being held in her face was obviously human, yet had Umbreon features clear as day upon his little body. That wasn't right! What was this creature?

She sniffed at the air, picking up what was clearly the scent of another Umbreon.

Without warning, the woman dropped the hybridised human. Orion, now free, seemed to relax and approached the Umbreon slowly. For a moment they just sniffed at each other wearily. It was then that the small child nearly jumped onto the Umbreon in glee. Pulling away, the Pokémon prepared to protect herself only to be embraced in the most gentle of hugs. The child was even purring! Blinked slowly, she struggled to make sense of the mumbled Pokémon speech,

'…M….Mm…Mother…'

Orion hugged her closer, but still with the most caring of touch.

And in that embrace the world trembled, accelerating to impossible speeds before shattering into a million pieces with the crash of a wave. Great clouds of memories dropped thunderbolts onto the rolling salt and foam. It was if I was being ripped into shreds and then re-assembled like a jigsaw of emotion. Awareness sutured, working the tiller. I was thrown about by the currents. Aura surged forward and I accepted my fate.

---

-AZURE-

---

White walls once more.

A long corridor, orange doors, stark strip lights, concrete floor.

The sound of footsteps.

'Mellll…Mmnnnelll...are we going outside now?'

The Umbreon boy begged the tall woman, following along at her heels. He looked older now, possibly reaching seven or eight years old. It was hard to tell as nothing had really changed. Orion still wore the tattered grey clothing, with only his aged face and height suggesting that years had flown by. It was almost as if he had grown into his Umbreon ears and tail. They no longer appeared so out of proportion, but still had that strange comical appearance on the hybrid. A large bruise blossomed across one cheek, somewhat obscuring the blood red colour of his irises.

No longer as ginger, Melissa's hair had greyed significantly to the point it was white in places. Her eyes were beady as she flicked her attentioned down to the scraggly child.

'Yes… of course. You do like it outside don't you Orion?'

She smiled but there was a lack of warmth in her grin.

Taking his hand in her own, Melissa led the child down through a row of corridors and out into the courtyard. Double doors slid open to reveal the staff recreation area, which was empty at this time of day. The well-tended lawn and garden was in part made up of an old estate - now a scientific compound mostly constructed of stone and concrete in the most ugly 60's architecture. The old building no longer held any of its former glory, gutted to be placed by state of the art bioengineering facility.

A faint spring breeze rustled the leaves of a single ginkgo tree.

Orion quickly pulled out of Mellisa's grasp, running towards a small patch of cultivated lush grass. His voice warbled happily before his feet ran away from the rest of him. The child tumbled, rolling across the lawn but apparently enjoying every moment. Wiggling merrily, Orion's Umbreon tail wagged furiously as he played. Rolling in the grass seemed to bring a lot of pleasure to the boy as he rubbed his black tipped nose into the fresh outdoor scents.

The image stuttered before turning to static.

Moments of happiness punctured the storm. Sombre ties splitting loose ends that weaved between the blue, turquoise, grey, and gold. Rain hammered across the horizon only to be met with blinding sun. The sky cast sunrays across the green fields that appeared as if from nowhere.

Blue waves swallowed what remained.

The boy trotted up to the two children, his tail wagging comically behind him. They were playing some kind of chasing game, tagging each other back and forth across the field. The siblings had aged notably. The auburn-haired girl was nearly a teenager, and had grown a few inches whilst maturing significantly. However, that was nothing compared to her lanky brother.

Upon seeing the Umbreon they stopped.

'What are you wearing?' The younger girl asked quizzically, rubbing some dirt off her nose. The game of tag had got a little repetitive with the two of them, and an interruption gave a chance for her to recover her breath. Most of all, it was apparent that Jenny was studying the oversized leather collar the hung loosely around the boy's neck. A heavy buckle at the front weighed the material down at an awkward angle. Black boxes lined the thick leather, but the children were too naive to understand the power of the electricity stored in the row of capacitors.

'Mel Gave it to me!' Orion spoke happily, watching for what he hoped was a positive reaction from both children. He was overjoyed at the prospect of owning something that had been gifted by the tall woman. The hybrid went as far to show off what was easily identifiable as a shock collar.

Jenny's older brother laughed knowingly, not bothering to hide an evil grin. That was until he reached toward to slap the boy somewhat harshly. His large palm caught Orion squarely across the shoulder.

'Got you!' The bully yelled, before sprinting away.

Picking himself up, Orion frowned slightly. Neither of the children appeared to appreciate what Melissa had given him. Should he not be proud of the collar? Those thoughts rapidly dissipated when he threw himself into the game with a cheeky laugh. Running in a loping gait, Orion caught up all too easily to the older brother.

None of them had noticed Melissa sat in the morning sunshine watching the children play. Relaxing leisurely on a park bench, she read through the wad of papers stacked heavily on the seat beside her. Although a narrow pair of sunglasses covered much of her face, bloodshot eyes watched the children over the metal rims. Things were progressing too quickly for her to rest.

The sound of laughter lit up the air once more.

Orion had been quickly tagged again. The hybrid was notably much faster than the two human children. Quickly closing the gap between himself and her eldest son, the morph leaped through the air in a flying tackle. Orion soared through the air before hitting the boy with startling accuracy just below the waist. That impact sent both of them rolling across the ground. Orion had taken much of the momentum, his engineered body barely noticing the heavy bump. Both were giggling madly.

Melissa rolled her eyes.

Footsteps pulled her attention away from the children. A white-coated male made his way down the path quickly, stopping in front of the woman and waiting for some indication to speak. Melissa drew her cardigan around her more tightly, eyeing the middle-aged man. Coffee stains covered patches of his coat.

'Is it ready?' The woman asked quietly, her eyes flicking back towards the children.

'Yes ma'am. We ran the final tests and everything is complete. The simulation capacity is up to nought-point-five gigawatt, though in a few years we can upgrade this as the subject progresses.'

The researcher explained this briefly and concisely to the woman. Though, his attempt to hide sweaty hands behind his back gave away the true anxiety he was hiding.

Melissa didn't seem to notice. Instead she grinned, 'Good. I think it's time we started. Let us see just what this boy is capable off... '

The last sentence was drawn out through a kaleidoscope.

I seemed to fall into her eyes, descending through the madness only to tumble out of the other end of the tunnel. My sision stretched twice over, only to snap back into position. Space and time warped through the conical foil of memories. I could no longer differentiate past from present, nor memories from reality. Orion's mind became tangled and I fought to surface.

---

-AZURE-

---

Twin screams came from inside the room. The shattering of glass followed rapidly behind, a cascade of noise which did little to hide the cries.

Looking up from her work, Melissa only just remembered that she was supposed to be keeping an eye on the children. The latest test results had come back and she was too engaged with the number-crunching to remember her own daughter. Dropping her pen, she rushed out from her office and through the open door immediately. Some idiot had left the storage facility open again. A look of worry had found its way onto Melissa's face, eyes dreading the worst.

Her very own daughter was sitting on the ground, crying loudly. The remains of shattered bottles covered the ground surrounding her. Broken glass from the cupboard above had smashed over the counter and showered the girl with fragments of the container. Flakes of it were in her hair and clothes. As first glance it was easy to tell that she wasn't truly hurt. But, the wails coming from her trembling mouth told otherwise.

'Jenny!' The woman snatched her daughter up from the ground without hesitation, 'Oh Jenny you need to be more careful.' Melissa crooned, brushing at her daughter's hair gently. 'Is everything OK? What were you doing…oh Jenny! We're going to have to clean you up aren't we?'

Tickling her daughters chin helped to soften her crying. Melissa smiled warmly, making sure the girl wasn't damp from whatever liquid had been stored in the vials.

'I'm...I'm sorry Mother.' Jenny went to sob again, rubbing at her dribbling nose.

'It's ok Jenny. These things happen.' Her mother pecked her cheek, 'Let's go and get you cleaned up.'

Melissa was almost out the door when she was stopped by a small whine. Holding her daughter in her arms, she turned to survey the room again.

She had completely missed the other person in the room. Orion was curled up on the floor, his long Umbreon ears pinned back as his face displayed fear and pain. Tears collected around his red eyes, wide with fright. It was clear that he had slid over the counter - the most likely cause for the damage in the first place. The hybrid was now in crumpled heap on the laminated floor. Blood was forming across his legs and feet where glass had punctured and cut through his skin. He was soaking, dripping with whatever had been in the glass containers previously.

Orion's red eyes were like saucers as he mewed.

Melissa paused for a moment, considering whether to help the boy or call in one of the technicians to do it for her. Jenny was hugging her waist tightly, though through her tears she quickly spotted the Umbreon-morph.

'Mother? Orion's hurt.'

'I can see that Jenny.' Melissa spoke flatley. She turned away, only for her daughter to pull her back weakly.

'Mother! What about Orion. He's...He's bleeding.'

Orion whined again. It was the sound of a Pokémon in distress and didn't match his human appearance.

At last, Melissa gave into her childs blatant request. Making sure that the tear-stricken Jenny was ok to stand on her own, the woman bent down and scooped up Orion. The hybrid was remarkably light in her arms, even as the creature smeared his own blood across her new jacket.

'Oh…oh Orion' Melissa tried to behave caringly in front of her daughter - even as she ground at her teeth.

'Let's go then Jenny.' She called her daughter after her, both heading downstairs to the nearest bathroom.

For a moment it seemed that we were following the woman. But the corridors were shifting, the whitewashed walls and concrete floors distorting to form ripples. A high pitched whistle started, rapidly gaining in volume.

There was nothing I could do, the sound etching pain across my very being. My vision crumbled, dessicated, and decayed. The world dissolved into a blue liquid that swirled and dragged me under its very surface. Sound burst my eardrums and I fought off a shout - anything to relieve the misery developing inside. It was as if I was being absorbed into the very fabric of the illusion.

---

-AZURE-

---

'Leave it alone Moonrise!'

'But Mother!'

I gave up on worrying the thick leather and instead let my arm drop with a weighty sigh. Having this manacle strapped around my wrist was just so annoying! It dug into my skin and felt heavy! I was used to having the equipment strapped around my neck - my shoulder's feeling unnaturally light now that the device now strapped around my arm.

Gnawing at the leather had done nothing but blunt my teeth, so I instead decided to toy with the strap.

'It's not coming off. Just leave it alone.'

I sighed. My Mother was right. She usually was. The fact that they had decided to bolt the leather around my wrist meant that there was no way I was getting it off. All I had to do was get used to the stupid tag, not that I had much choice. If Melissa wanted me to wear it, then wear it I did. Trying anything else would end up with the same result anyway - and more pain then I deserved for my efforts.

I shivered at the thought.

Morning sunlight starting to shine through the thick glass of the dinner-plate sized windows. I didn't know how long I had been awake, but I felt beyond tired. Sleep had been difficult knowing that something was going on. Melissa had been hinting at an event for weeks. She even got me new clothes to wear a few days ago. Itching at my neck again, everything felt uncomfortable under the new fabric.

An additional nuisance was the replacement of my nest with a new mattress. Now nothing smelt like it should and it was difficult to relax with the fresh scents of soap and plastic. On top of that, I'd been washed and groomed for the first time in a month. The smell of chemicals still clung to the fur and the thin covering of hair that dappled my legs this time of year. The winter gave my coat a slight sheen in the thin dawn glow.

'Rest Moonrise. It might be a long day.'

Mother gazed across at me lazily from the mattress. She'd taken an immediate liking to the soft fabric and had barely left since. Yawning once, the Umbreon closed her eyes again and returned to dozing. I just huffed, rolling over whilst trying not to disturb her small form.

I didn't know what time it was. Internally, I somehow knew that nobody would be coming for a while. Training had become such a perfected routine that my body knew what time of day it was better than I did. That didn't stop me becoming restless. Curling up on myself, I simply lay and waited for someone to come and let me out of my pen. The morning seemed to last for eternity. I let my eyelids grow heavy and my breathing level.

'Morning Orion!'

It was only upon waking that I realised I had managed to fall asleep. My eyelids burst open in an instant, my tail responding to the voice before I did.

'Um…eon?' I coughed loudly, before croaking 'Jenny?'

I hadn't seen the girl in weeks and bounced up onto my feet. With my tail wagging furiously, I remembered my manners and tried to steady myself. She didn't like it when I behaved too much like an Umbreon, even as I sat on my haunches and gave her a toothy grin.

I wasn't sure what to say but Jenny quickly filled the silence.

'It's nice to see you too Orion.' The teenager patted my head gently, 'I only got back last night…so I thought I'd come by see how you were doing!'

I nodded, not sure why that was relevant but happy to see her anyway. She looked older than how I remember her to be - but then again she was wearing strange clothing. It looked somehow formal. The scent that defined her still lingered however, and I relaxed after a few uneasy moments. Maybe it was a coming of age thing?

'Anyways…' Jenny seemed to grow more awkward the longer she stood there. I didn't understand why. I was so happy to see her but something felt different this time. Normally, Jenny would be much more enthusiastic to see me. She'd usually chat happily about what she'd been doing recently. Now there was a haunted look to her expression. Blink and it was gone.

'I took the job of taking you up to breakfast this morning.' Jenny explained after a pause, 'We have an event on today and mother wishes for you to involved…'

She trailed off, before looking me up and down. There was uncertainty in her eyes.

'You must be on your best behaviour. Ok?'

I nodded, wagging my tail in confirmation. My wrist still felt heavy from the leather strap and I stopped myself from gnawing at it again. They wanted me to behave. Often that command was convoluted and I had to guess what Melissa wanted me to behave as. She would often grow angry when I failed to follow human etiquette and customs. Melissa wasn't very good at teaching these rules, but Jenny was much better at explaining things. Maybe she could help?

'Cool. We'll head on up then…and oh! You too of course!'

The latter was said to my Mother. Our chatter must have woken her, but the Umbreon was wagging her tail as she greeted Jenny. After the quick re-introduction, we followed the human up and out of the compound into the communal rooms. The arena in the centre of the building took up much of the space in the concrete box, but hallways and corridors formed a confusing network which I struggled to recall. It was nice being with Jenny again. At last she started making small talk - though it was something about working on vaccines and to be honest I didn't have a clue what she was on about.

Jenny seemed different from the little girl I always remembered her being. She never wanted to play anymore, and started to distance herself if I sat too close. Perhaps she didn't like me anymore? Unless...maybe I had changed to? How long had it really been since I saw her last? Her visits were becoming progressively infrequent.

'By the looks of things the place is empty…' The girl spoke to herself as she poked her head round the doorway, before confirming 'Yeah it's just us this morning Orion.'

The kitchenette (as they called it) was empty as usual. I'd only been here on a few occasions but understood that this was where they prepared my meals. Most of the time they just brought it down to my pen in a bowl. Holding my tail between my legs a little, I felt awkward standing in a room which I wasn't usually allowed. Jenny waved me towards a stool and I sat quickly. She was busying herself opening and closing cupboards.

It was clear Jenny was searching for something. It was also obvious that she was trying to hide the fact that she was. Surely Jenny should knew where everything was? How long had it been since she was last here? It hadn't been that long surely?

'How have you been then Orion?' Jenny interrupted my thoughts. She now had a couple of bowls in her hand. Both held the same gloopy mixture which I'd seen every day for as long as I could remember. The scent coming from the food raised my ears and I sat up a little straighter. I had to stop myself licking my lips.

'I've…' I wasn't sure what to say so I just nodded,

'You've been good then?' Jenny bent down and placed my mother's bowl on the floor, 'Has my mother been letting you do other things outside…outside of training?'

At last, Jenny passed my meal towards me, leaving it in my calloused hands. She dropped a spoon into the mix and the plastic sunk in between the chunks slowly.

I nodded again. Even though training was now three sessions a day, Melissa had been kind and let me have a few books to practice reading with. They were much harder than I was used to, but I was getting through a few pages a day now. I'm sure at some point in the future I'd be good enough to read each all the way through. Maybe even whole books at a time?

I fumbled with the spoon. Jenny watched me as I struggled, frantically trying to stuff the mixtures into my mouth. Remembering that I was supposed to behave myself, I slowed the motion. The aids that usually fed me hadn't provided any form of eating implement for years. It felt more natural to eat directly from the bowl anyway. I tried to make sure. Jenny didn't notice my struggle. She was watching me intently as she ate opposite.

Everything was white or steel in the small room. Jenny's red cardigan stood out in stark contrast, not to mention her black boots. It was hard to keep my eyes focused elsewhere.

It was rude to stare at people.

Gulping my food down in the most civilised manner I could, Jenny dragged a piece of paper out of her pocket. I stopped to watch her unfold it, ears perking up in interest. Was this for me?

Unfurling the note, Jenny cleared her throat.

'So Orion...this is your schedule for today. I will be with you for most of it so you don't need to worry about anything. As I said, it's important that you're on your best behaviour. Got it?'

I itched at an ear, but still nodded silently. My neck felt exposed without my heavy collar sitting on my shoulders. I didn't like the feeling.

'Good job. So you have to be careful about...about your…uh…speech. Focus on the English words ok? And no growling at people that you think smell odd or look funny.'

Knowing what she was referring to, I hung my head. They always had to bring up that incident. I hope Jenny took that as a message so say I'd try my best.

Lifting my eyes slowly and Jenny was still staring at the paper.

I let my tail wag gently.

'Cool.' The woman forced a tight smile, 'The event is over the whole site, but Melissa will be using it to show visitors the will be a reception and you'll have a chance to show your skills in the arena. These people are interested in a new medicine that we have been developing and so they're interested in seeing you…'

Jenny trailed off. For a brief moment our eyes met and she quickly looked away.

'They're interested in you because you've been using a medicine to help you train. And they want to use that medicine themselves. Understand?'

I nodded slowly.

'Are you sure? You look confused.'

I grumbled, trying not to growl in frustration. Yes I understood. One of Melissa's assistants had explained they were using something called a 'virus' to make me stronger. It infected me like a illness, but making me stronger rather than weaker. So there were people here to see the virus?

Jenny straightened herself on her stool and once more scanned the paper.

'Nevermind everything else. Let's get you cleaned up and presentable.'

Nearly an hour later and I found myself in what was quickly becoming a nightmare. Jenny had taken me to a large room upstairs which was full of humans. There could have been a hundred, all wearing ridiculous clothing and sharing potent drinks. The room smelt odd and I sneezed a few times before adapted to the scent. Then there was the noise - an endless cacophony of people chattering noisily.

Jenny tugged my hand forcefully. The leather circling round my other wrist crackled to life and the thin shock tingled my veins. I suppressed the growl in my throat with every fibre of my body. I wouldn't let Jenny down again! However that didn't stop the hackles on my neck from standing on end. I had to force my lips to cover my teeth. Jenny pulled tighter still and I forced myself to relax.

'ORION!' the human hissed in a hoarse whisper, 'WHAT did I SAY?'

I huffed, 'She was looking at bre funny.'

Admitting the fact only seemed to make things worse,

'They're all looking at you funny Orion.' Jenny sounded exasperated, 'They're inspecting you because they've never seen someone like you before.'

'An Umbreon?' I asked, turning to see if my mother was around. Surely they'd seen an Eeveelution like me before? My book said we were popular in some places and even brought good luck. People were supposed to like Umbreons?

'No Orion! Uh, ok...maybe. But you're a special Umbreon! They've never seen one that's been brought up like you have…to be human!' She hissed that last word to emphasize my attempt to act in such a way., 'The point of today is that they are interested in you and what you can do.'

Nodding dejectedly, I tried to let her words sink in.

With sweaty palms and itchy legs in these trousers, I tried to get my tail from out between my legs. I'd been sternly told to act natural - or at least as much as I could after the pampering this morning. It had started with a bath. Then I found myself getting a haircut - which turned into a shave over the rest of my body. Only after threatening the helpers venomously did they leave me alone. However, I couldn't stop Jenny for then dressing me in even newer clothes than I had on. How did people feel comfortable in these things?

The band around my wrist only seemed to tighten more and more as I thought about it.

'Did you want a drink?' Jenny did ask, but forced the glass into my paw anyway. I didn't have a clue what was in the vessel as I sniffed over the rim tentatively,

'It's water Orion. Mother would kill me if you had anything else.'

Holding the cup tightly, Jenny finally let go of my hand to pick up a drink for herself

'Ah Jenny!'

I span around, a little startled at the man that suddenly appeared as if from nowhere. Wearing the most ridiculous of outfits, I wondered if he could breathe under the tight-fitting maroon thing which was done up to his neck. A bright red tie was tucked under his shirt and the sparkling fabric drew my eyes back and forth hypnotizingly.

'Oh hi Sam! How's it going? I wasn't expecting to see you here?' Jenny's otherwise warm tone sounded forced.

The man chuckled and ran a hand over his slick hair. I realised I was staring, and so pretended to look elsewhere. Across the room, other silly dressed people were talking to each other as if the world hadn't fallen into a heap of utter muddle. The whole room stank of fake scents which tickled the back of my nose. Some of the females reeked of the stuff to the point I had to stop myself from vomiting.

'Good as always Jenny.' The sleek male replied, 'I managed to get an invite through work seems we've been beavering away at something similar for the past couple of years. To be honest, I wasn't expecting our biggest competition to simply sell off the patent - but there we go. I couldn't miss out on an opportunity to have a look round after everything you've hinted at over the past year or so!'

Jenny smiled and I knew it was an awkward attempt to hide something.

'Yes.' She chuckled, 'Well...'

'And this is the subject?' The man (I think he was called Sam) focused on me and I had to push my eyes away from his own. He had a shrewd face and I immediately got an intense feeling of distrust from the human. Sam had the eyes of a Spearow.

My ears dropped against my scalp.

The red of his tie was hypnotising.

Jenny placed an hand on my shoulder with the most gentle of touch. We had agreed the signal this morning to let me know everything was ok. My brains still had to override my body however. A deep growl was already forming at the back of my throat. Everything about Sam was more akin to an Ekans than a human!

'Orion, this is Sam. And Sam this Orion. You'll be seeing more of him in the sessions this afternoon, after the tour I think.'

'Yes. Nice to meet you Orion. I'll be expecting great things from you.'

He threw his hand out and I gripped it loosely as I had been taught. The man decided to clench mine in a firm clench and for a moment I didn't know what I was supposed to do. They'd never told me about situations like this? Flicking my eyes towards Jenny for help, I simply followed his lead and squeezed back tighter.

A small shock shot up my left wrist and I loosed go immediately. Sam looked a little red in the face.

'Uh…' he stuttered, 'A good strong grip you've got there.'

'Thank you.' I said simply, not sure whether this was another strange human custom. Jenny's face told me otherwise and I reddened upon realizing that I had got another thing wrong.

'So. I'm guessing you've already networked with every Tom, Dick, and Harry before you got to us?' Jenny asked Sam gently, drawing his attention away from cradling his hand. Meanwhile, the man was sending spiteful looks in my direction. 'Have you made any new contacts for work?' she asked sweetly,

And as easily as that the two of them were talking about something or other. I'd heard a few of the words they were talking about before. Modifications, genes, data…and other science things which I had never been allowed to learn more of. Deciding I didn't want to stand like a lemon, I tried to be productive and instead spun my eyes round studying each person in turn. Human watching was easy from a Pokémon perspective. We had the added sense of sound and smell to pick up on those extra things humans missed.

With time more and more people seemed to want to come and talk with Jenny - and me too. My friend had already explained in a harsh whisper how to act when they gripped my hand, or how I was supposed to answer to small talk. Our conversations seemed to be on big issues rather than small ones, talking about people I hadn't met or concepts that sounded fictional.

Jenny did most of the talking.

Minutes turned into an hour. Time dragged on and soon I became fidgety. Often Jenny placed her hand on my shoulder as a signal that everything was ok. It was a gesture she'd invented as a kid and the motion calmed me automatically. That alone got me through the long minutes.

Then the food came out.

To put it bluntly, I'd never seen so much edible stuff in one place before. The scent emanating from the table upon table of an in innumerable number of items was like liquid honey! There was everything from simple loaves of bread to bright colourful displays of stacked macaroons. Plates of various meats adorned the space between rows of cut sandwiches. I'd only ever seen such things in picture books, my eyes unable to break contact with the sight. Already, I was gravitating towards that side of the room without meaning to. Chocolate coated everything that thick sauces and jams did not. Hordes of plates stood waiting and already humans were taking their pick of the selection.

It was absurd how reserved and casually the humans selected small portions of the display. Many barely managed to fill their plates as they sampled this and that - almost as if the feast was an average meal. There was even waiters to help people too lazy to serve themselves!

Wiping at my chin frantically cleared a bit of drool that was forming around my lips.

A shot of electricity shuddered through my bones and I was suddenly returned to reality. Jenny had her hand on my shoulder once more, her small hand blocking me from getting any closer to the banquet.

'That's not for you Orion.' The woman sighed, 'Melissa prepared something special for you later.

That didn't stop me whining loudly. My ears drooped upon finding that the noise had drawn a few mirthful eyes on me. I was doing my best to ignore the guests, but it didn't seem fair!

'Breeee….' I groaned, tugging away from Jenny.

A sharp jolt of static shot up my forearm and I yelped. Now that did draw the attention of the guests. In the silence that followed, nearly everyone was looking at me. Some were simply catching a glance out of the corners of their eyes - but that didn't stop the claustrophobic feeling building in my chest. Unable to hide my embarrassment, I did my best to hide behind Jenny. The woman was patting my head gently.

'Everything's Ok Orion. We'll get you something else now…'

Her sharp almond eyes held pity rather than understanding. Jenny was running a hand between my slender ears and I pulled back quickly, teeth bared. She was treating me like a pup! And in front of all these humans too! What was going on? There were people and food and drink and humans and the scent of the food was like nothing I had ever smelled before! It was so thick in the air. Inhaling deeply and I could almost taste it! Twitching my nose and I was met with layer upon layer of scented treats. Sugar, chocolate, fruit, and berries!

Lifting my snout into the air, I snorted as if I could digest the smell alone.

'Orion.' Jenny was trying to pet me again but I ducked away from her hand. 'it's ok boy…'

I growled. No. It was not OK. Why was there so much food but not enough for me? A shock discharged up my arm and bounced between my vertebrae but in this state, it felt like a small tickle.

'Orion.' Jenny sounded desperate, 'ORION!'

It wasn't a shout but it could have been. Snapping back to reality, I found Mellisa stood before me. My snout was pressed against her stomach. I must have bumped into her, too focused on following the trail of scents before my nose. At this point I would have preferred the shock compared to her wrath. There was a bright fire burning in the backs of her eyes that meant only one thing.

I was in a lot of trouble.

Standing up straight, I let my tail drop and ears perk up in attention. I'd learnt to keep my eyes on her feet and hands by my side, mostly in a stance of submission. Whatever was going to happen, It was better that surrendered to my face. Melissa knew best.

'I'm sorry Mel' I spoke as clearly as I could to my trainer, too scared to meet her eyes. 'Bre...The food and…'

I trailed off. Melissa had recently started to demand for explanations for whatever mistakes I had committed. Following on from a few attempts to avoid her wrath, I'd learnt that I should tell the truth as best I could. That didn't make it any easier.

'I...I lost control.' I stated, although my voice cracked as I did so. The shear act of admitting the mistakes brought tears to my eyes.

My trainer was dressed up like the other humans. I could barely detect her scent through the fake perfumes. The costume she wore was dazzling and displayed areas that seemed to make her seem even more human. If it wasn't for the malevolence in her pale face, I doubt I would have recognised Melissa. However, the bond between a Pokémon and trainer was still there - and for now it seemed to be a tether of pure displeasure and disapproval.

What she did next shocked me. I was already cowering, visibly shaking in a way to make myself look weak. In doing so, I hoped Melissa would spare me any severe punishments. I naturally shrink away from her touch, but was surprised to find she'd put an arm gently around my shoulder. It was almost affectionate - even if slightly firm. Melissa turned my attention away from the table even as my eyes refused to leave the banquet. Fighting off a whine took all my strength.

'Orion!' Melissa must have sensed my distress, 'We've got a special treat lined up for you in your prep room. I know that you'd like our food, but you do remember what happened last time don't you?' Her voice was sickly sweet, something that seemed completely foreign coming from the woman.

The forceful reminder of my last encounter with human food made my skin crawl. Stealing chocolate from one of the lab technicians had resulted in a trip to the vet and getting my stomach pumped. How was I supposed to know that chocolate was poisonous? After nearly an hour of sugar-fueled delirium I could vaguely remember being found by an aid some point later, caked in my own vomit. The experience was up there with one of the worst in my life.

'Are you listening Orion?'

I grumbled, but nodded at last, 'Yes Mel.'

'Good.' She stated flatly, stealing me towards a tall man who was eyeing me curiously. The human had the uniform that indicated he worked for Melissa, but that did little to help me relax. I craned my neck around to find that Jenny had already disappeared into the crowd. Many were still watching me with strangely pleasant smiles of their faces.

'Can you take Orion through to prepare for the demonstration? Get him some lunch too before the showcase.'

The aid nodded and I bowed my head, knowing that for whatever reason I was being removed from the event. Things like this always happened, it didn't seem fair. I guess I had failed again. Jenny had told me to behave myself but I'd ended up acting like an Umbreon again. How could I help the fact? I hadn't be bad and the humans always wanted me to act like something I wasn't. It was like Melissa couldn't decide if she wanted a human or a Pokémon. Maybe I was a mix of both?

'I'll see you later Orion.' My trainer ruffled my hair before stroking my ears in a gentle caress that sent a shiver down my spine. Perhaps she still loved me after all? I wagged my tail, closing my eyes briefly in a show of trust. I was still wagging my tail when the aid called me away. The man didn't even smile as the led me away in silence, trotting through some double doors back into the compound. It was only a few minutes later that the scents of the human party died away.

A few minutes later and I only had the awkwardly fitting garments to remind me that the event had happened at all. A few minutes later and I was left with my lunch, licking out the bowl as I soundly remembered that Melissa had promised me something special. But the slop was the same, as were the motions in preparation for another training session. Barely an hour had passed before I once again found myself in the arena.

Only this time I wasn't chained down.

I was confused at the lack of constraints, but knew that I had already upset my trainer enough today. So, steadying my breath, I descended into the zone of calm and readied myself. Already my body was shifting into a more natural state as my muscles relaxed. The world seemed to flatten, losing all colour as I called forth the smouldering black energy seething in my stomach. It felt good to settle once more into my battle stance, letting the sensation of raw power seep into my bones. When in this state there was no today or tomorrow - only the present moment. The fight was all that mattered.

My body crackled with darkness that seemed to project outwards in waves.

My vision narrowed as I blinked my crimson eyes, pupils shrinking to form narrow slits. I could feel my rings glowing, the little fur left on my body standing on end.

Normally it would be dead silent in the huge arena. Today was different. Over the faint whirring of the hologram technology coming to life, my ears picked out the sound of human voices. The black lobes swiveled, honing in on the noise seemed to come from behind the concrete walls. Sinking into the blank calm of pure instinct, my brain naturally located the noise and filtered out the background static. People must have been in the viewing gallery, hidden behind over three inches of glass. The only reason I knew that was because I had once broken through it. But now the glass was over twice as thick and reinforced by steel fibres.

There was a reason they chained me when I was like this.

Solidly, I placed each paw down on the cold stone and waited.

The air vibrated.

'…following on from earlier tests.' A long pause, 'Of course, the subject was engineered to be susceptible to the viral stimulant. Exposing any normal human and Pokémon to the stimulant would result in permanent and potentially life threatening disfigurement. Thankfully, our forward thinking when Orion was still an embryo means that later transcription of designed RNA packages focused on…'

My ears flickered at the noise, trying to ignore the speech. Obviously, somebody was talking prior to my training session. Maybe it had to do with all the humans hanging around earlier? Had Jenny warned me of this? Wrinkling up snout a little, I let my slender ears train themselves into the right positions. Each acted as a radar, filtering out the sound of pin drop over the vibration of cooling fans.

The noise amplified as coherent words, blossoming outwards from the vibrations.

'…repetition of what was said this morning!' The voice was amplified suddenly. 'We'll see Orion perform now and see the influence that the viral stimulant has had on his body. This one and only strand of the medicine was engineered specifically for the subject. It enhances chosen Pokémon characteristics including agility and power, making him stronger than any known Pokémon in existence.'

It was hard to make out who was speaking or the low rumbled of the human voices.

'So! Any questions?'

Whatever followed was drowned out by the noise of the arena mechanisms flaring to life. A high pitched squeal was followed by creaking noises of steel on steal. Like had happened thousands of times previously, black devices appeared from suddenly openings in the arena dome. The whole room came to life as the extraction fans kicked up dust from the floor into tiny whirlwinds. My fur rippled and I lifted my tail nimbly as a counterbalance, ready to dodge any surprise attacks.

A small rumble shook the arena as the hologram sprung to life.

With a huge brain-shattering roar, I stared numbly up at the Articuno. The huge bird rose to four or five time my height, lifting itself off the ground with huge dazzling wings. Already, the air temperature had dropped a few degrees and I bounced into action. There was no time to admire the bird as it shot a storm of icy bullets in my direction.

I rolled across the floor, skidding into a agile turn so as to come broadside against the beast. At this point I'd fought nearly every legendary in existence, fighting off illusions which had simulated powers that were off the charts. Not to mention that each was built like a tank, leaving me with nothing but a grueling game of cat and mouse to taken down the huge Pokémon.

I missed the hyper beam by three hairs.

Retaliating with a Double Team, I hid amongst my own illusions so as to come at the bird from behind. Already it was destroying my copies with a furious Icy Wind slowly being trained in my direction. Shooting a machine-gun like volley of shadow balls, I drew the Articunos attention to it's left before throwing myself to the right. Next came a Feint Attack - Giga Impact combo, even as I fought off a hastily thrown Headbutt.

The blizzard caught me off guard.

In an instant the arena was a white mist of nothing, the Articuno hiding in the hailstorm of icy projectiles. There was nothing left to do put pull off a poor Pursuit, hoping to locate the hologram before it found me first.

The next Hyperbeam missed my tail by the width of a hair. Yelping in shock, I turned to face the emerging bird and snarled nastily. The hologram responded in turn, the bird bellowing in defiance - even as simulated blood oozed from under one blue wing.

That was...effortless?

In fact, the rest of the battle went more smoothly than it normally did. Within a few minutes I'd pulled of a rather rushed Secret Power, followed by a Faint attack before a Hyper Beam of my own.

The Legendary fell within a chilly cloud of dust before disappearing. Why was it so much easier than before? It usually impossible to take out the God with only a handful of hits. I had barely broken into a sweat.

I shivered in the chill, feeling my the cold air burn the inside of my lungs. Shrugging off the extreme cold, I steadied my breath and pushed away the call of black energy inside. Not being as fatigued as I usually was made ignoring the allure of power more difficult than it should have been. However, I quickly returned to my former self when the lab technician offered to take me out to somewhere warm. They never did this, why now? All I could do was bob my head slowly, and following him into the check-up room.

Normally they're wave me through such procedures to ensure I was in good health.

But like everything else, today was different.

There was a nurse to help, and she offered me a warm smile. Indicating for me to take a seat on the edge of the examination table, I narrowed my eyes in confusion. What was going on? She even offered me a slip of paper which looked like some miniature poster out of a book. The words were too long for me to recognise, and I tilted my head uncertainty.

'It's a lot of faff, isn't it?' She broke the silence at last, checking the watch hanging from her uniform. 'We've got visitors today so I'm making sure you get a proper checkup! Don't want to start a riot out there do we?'

She flashed a warm grin but I struggled to return it. For a moment the nurse's eyes had flickered to the glass wall and I wondered if more humans were stood behind it. Shaking off such a thought, I returned my attention to the short woman. Her face looked familiar, but I doubt I'd seen her for at least a few weeks. Already, she had banages out and was wrapping my arm carefully. I couldn't even remember getting more than a scratch there.

'A riot?' I asked, 'What do you mean?'

I studied the glass wall, but the nurse neatly stood in my field of view.

'Yes. It's a special day today isn't it and some people came to watch you train!' Her overly patronising voice frustrated me and I flicked my ears, narrowing my eyes a little to show my discomfort.

'Faff' I stated, struggling to get my mouth around the word, 'What's faff?'

The nurse looked at me quizzically.

'Today I mean. Today is a lot of faff. You know? A nuisance.'

Her eyes had flickered back to the glass again as she finished. The nurse was dressed in clean white clothes like everyone else that had ever worked here. I was told that it was white for hygiene reasons, but I didn't understand how. Then again, I found it hard to imagine humans dressed in anything different. Until earlier today that was. Were those fancy clothes what people normally wore?

'I doubt you know what's going on. Do you?' The nurse was getting some equipment ready. I watched her slowly, ensuring that she didn't get out anything potentially threatening. Medical people often had sharp or pointy things which were often painful. I didn't trust them. Especially the masks the had the chemical gas that made me pass out.

I growled at the mere thought. That made the nurse look up suddenly and I feigned a smile.

'You ok?' She asked at last. Concern was laced within her voice.

I nodded. She had pale brown eyes which watched me with a slight frown. There was a sad expression on her face which I quickly deciphered as being pity. With a sigh, she adjusted her hair and picked up a pot of cream. I could smell the ointment from a few feet away and wrinkled my nose in disgust.

'You know. Quite a few of the guests were worried about you. They saw what happened before lunch and...well…' She trailed off, 'I guess you can be adorable sometimes. Come on. This will help.'

The last was said as I cowered a little below her hands, but I stayed put. Adorable. Seriously? Grumbling under my breath seemed to unnerve the nurse a little. Picking up a small flashlight, she forced on pleasant smile.

'Sorry. As you have already guessed, we're being watched right now. So I'm going to be fussing you a little more than normal. Not that we don't care for you…' She trailed off, apparently unsure whether that comment was appropriate. 'Anyways! I'm going to shine this in your eyes briefly. It's nothing to worry about.'

I let her lift the thing to my snout. Not looking directly into the beam, I held myself still as she flashed the light from one eyes to the other. I saw my vision dilate before narrowing. The flashlight was quickly put away and I blinked the feeling away, only to find she was now inspecting my ears.

My tail was sore from sitting on the metal work surface and I wriggled uncomfortably.

'You ok?' The nurse added and I nodded stiffly, 'Good to hear. I saw you had a near-miss out there with that hyper beam, it's good you dodged in time or we'd be patching you up proper. And Melissa wouldn't like that in front of her guests would she?'

All I could do was keep nodding.

'Why are they here?' I pondered out loud, not expecting the nurse to reply. The leather strap around my wrist was starting to rub against my skin. A couple of small blisters had already formed from my short training session. I wasn't use to having the material bound around my wrist.

'Oh…' She paused for a moment to study me. 'I see. Well it's because she's finally going to be…'

She trained off, putting her hands on her hips.

'How do I explain this? Everyone here that's been helping you train have designed a medicine that makes you stronger. Now Melissa wants to sell it to other people to raise funds for your adventure.'

'Adventure?' I didn't sound right.

The nurse bobbed her head, putting a cold hand against my forehead suddenly. Our eyes met and she offered a warm smile.

'Well you look healthy. I'm happy to let you go.'

'Adventure?' I repeated, letting my ears fall back against my head in a show of dissatisfaction. For a second the nurses eye flicked towards the glass wall. Sighing heavily, she peeled off her plastic blue gloves.

'Yes. You know? To Mount Coronet. Melissa has been planning this trip for a very long time. Do you think you're ready?'

I just started back at her blankly. So that's what this was all about. Melissa was making money so she could take me to the biggest mountain in Sinnoh. That was the place where I was supposed to fight? This was everything she'd been training for and Melissa hadn't told me? Maybe my trainer had simply forgotten...but that wasn't like her.

'I...didn't know' I whispered to myself. Already my mind was thinking over the consequences.

'Oh. Almost forgot.' The nurse pulled out a device which I had been told measured the pressure of my blood. 'Let's put this on you.'

After donning a new set of blue gloves, the nurse set up the small machine a wrapped a tight bit of plastic around my bicep. I'd been told my blood pressure was usually low, but that could have meant anything. All I knew was that I hated having the machine constrict tightly around my arm. Gritting my teeth, I stuffed the growl in my throat back down into my stomach. The checks were bringing back memories of training from years previously, and I grumbled as I recalled my younger self reacting poorly to such procedures.

'Don't try to move, it'll take longer to calibrate correctly. Ok?'

There was a strange feeling in my chest - like everything had collapsed into a void. How long had I been preparing for this? And now that the time was finally approaching...I felt empty somehow. This was my purpose. I was trained to take on the strongest Pokémon in battle just like Melissa wanted me to. I should be happy now, right? This was everything I had ever dreamed of! Right? The chance to take on the Gods themselves...

I silenced my thoughts and turned my attention back to the aid. She was in the processes of stripping the plastic off my arm. Perking up my ears at the sight of her closing up the medikit, I thought everything would be over until a small object appeared on her finger. It was a shiny sticker which she slapped onto my chest. Smiling brightly, she waved me towards the door.

'That's it for today. See you soon Orion!'

I refused to get up off the table.

'Bre said that people were here to buy medicine?' I reiterated. Of all the people I had seen today, the nurse alone was the only person that seemed willing to tell me what was happening. I don't think that Melissa would have approved. Most of the aids often ignored me completely. That didn't stop the nurse from chatting.

'Yes, it's a pharmaceutical patent for that warped virus we've been working on since...well since her husband passed away.'

I sniffed. Jenny had told me this story before. Melissa's husband, and by extension Jenny's father, was a very important person. He had died mysteriously, leaving Melissa distraught and as a result she'd…'

'Orion?' The nurse ruffled my head fondly, 'Are you alright?'

Nodding, I used my years of practice to hide the tears. It was because of Melissa's husband that I existed. I was the one who was supposed to take on the Gods and bring him back. Nobody had explained how I would do that - only that I could. I had been trained nearly everyday of my life for that single purpose. And now that day was almost here, it was hard to imagine it all.

'Off you go then.' The nurse motioned towards the door again. 'Jenny should be waiting for you outside. And don't touch the bandages!'

It was best not to think about it at all, just as both Mother and Melissa had told me.

Hopping down from the medical bench, I thanked the aid silently before heading out into the hallway. Jenny wasn't there, in fact nobody was. Perking my ears up for any signs of anyone nearby, I scanned the whitewashed corridor and waited patiently. Glancing back at the aid, she waved her hands in something which could only be described as a shooing motion.

A few minutes later Jenny arrived and, almost out of breath, directed me back through the network of hallways and rooms. She was wearing the same clothes she had on before, but checked over my wounds sympathetically.

'You did very well Orion. I think you impressed everyone.'

I grunted, not wanting to talk about the session. Jenny must know about what was happening - but hadn't even brought up the conversion. Sensing my indignation, the woman let me sulk in silence. That didn't last long as a few moments later we found Mellissa waiting for us in a the staff room foyer. I wagged my tail happily upon seeing my trainer, and she gave my ears a brief scratch before talking to her daughter in a rather business like manner. Meanwhile, I did my very best to remain focused on their conversation. Now I had an inkling of what was going on, it made sense to find out as much as I could. Asking Melissa directly would be a very bad idea.

It was hard to believe it was actually happening.

Just thinking about that brought another bubble to my chest. It was a strangely unpleasant feeling and I pushed the thoughts away again. Mother hadn't even made herself known yet today. I was already missing her warm comfort.

'Of you go then.' Melissa disturbed my mindless worry with her sharp voice, 'I'll be seeing you after everything has finished up.'

Bouncing to attention, I'd found my trainer had already stalked off towards what sounded like a very busy breakroom. Jenny didn't seem to want to talk much as she led me round to another room within the staff area. This was usually the cafeteria, but had been set up with lots of seats. Only the faint whiff of food was still in the air, now replaced by the scent of the poorly lain carpet to cover stained floorboards. A short stage had been set up at the back of the room. Thankfully, Jenny led me to the opposite end where some plush chairs had been set aside.

'Why don't you rest their for a bit and I'll get you a drink?'

I nodded tiredly, the fatigue of my brief training session already catching up with me. Closing my eyes briefly to try and focus on my whirlwind of corners, I didn't noticed drifting off to sleep. It was only the gentle but persist tap on my shoulder which woke me.

'Time to get up now…'

I growled at Jenny to leave me alone. Only then did I realise my mistake.

With a startle, I found myself curled up on the chair with my tail hung limply, brushing against the floor. Humans were starting to enter through the double doors, all chatting loudly as they found their own seats. They all sat with their backs to us, but I could still notice a few eyes wander in our direction. I recognised Sam, the boy who I'd met earlier grinning as he held conversation with a well dressed woman.

Turning to give Jenny an apologetic flash of puppy-dog eyes, I was somewhat alarmed to find her glaring harshly. With a finger she tapped me on the nose. It didn't hurt, at least not physically. What stung was the fact that it was Jenny who did it. This wasn't the little teenager which used to sit with me on the grass and talk about the stars. No this wasn't the girl that I used to know.

With a loud tut, her face softened at last. The woman looked exhausted and she failed to pull-off a tired smile.

'Wakey Wakey. This is the important bit. We get to see who bids for the special medicine.'

I frowned, still trying to get my sleeping brain to function. All I could do was nod, pulling myself up into a more respectable seating position.

'This is for bre battle, isn't it?' I spoke in a small voice.

Jenny turned to look at me in a way that was surprisingly nonchalant.

'Yes. Melissa is selling everything now and...yes Orion. This is for your battle.'

Her brown eyes were sad as she cast them up to the stage. For a moment I could see the old, cheerful Jenny I knew in the reflection of them, before I looked at the stage as well. We watched Melissa climb up before the crowd of people. Everyone clapped and after the noise had dived down, I asked in the bravest voice I could.

'You still miss your father? It's been so long umb...and I'll try.'

It seemed unnecessary to add that the only reason I was sat here was for the very purpose. Perhaps I'd finally come to terms with my situation, but it seemed to far away. Even now as other people started to congregate on the stage and the humans cheered, it felt like the beginning of the end.

My hackles rose when I felt a arm placed around my shoulders. Breathing stiffly, I let Jenny calm me as a tangle of emotions fought within my head. Eyeing her curiously, I wasn't sure what to say upon seeing the tears from around her eyes. A single trail was running down her cheek.

'It's ok. I'm sorry that this had to happen Orion. In the end, I promise. It'll be ok.'

I leaned against her, and tried to let the world feel right once more.

---

-AZURE-

---

For all that was in the world, in this place there only seemed to be steel and concrete. Both were reinforced and whitewashed in a lime render that did little but highlight fire damage. That, along with impact scars and water damage, appeared ubiquitous across the large enclosure. The arena was built like a bunker but with the opposite in mind - keeping things inside rather than sheltering them from the devastation outside. LED strip-lights shone too brightly, flickering now and then with loud buzzing vibrations.

Such a room made things look smaller - or you at least lost your perspective of size. There was nothing to compare anything against. The bullet-proof glass screens in the far corner possibly ranged from centimeters to metres. The very grains in the stone could have been the size of atoms or mountains. It was easy to lose yourself in such a room.

Above the sound of the fizzling electrics, a female voice climbed into a broken shout.

Melissa bellowed over the intercom,

'THAT is your purpose Orion! THAT is what you were designed to do and that is what you shall do whether you like it or NOT!'

Inside the observatory room, the woman lifted her shaking hands to organize her hair. Pulling spidery fingers through her overly smooth opal locks did little to calm her aggression. The mass of curls acted to frame a narrow face that seemed to be at odds with the look of the woman. Flat eyes of steel lacked any and all emotion. Wrinkles catching the underside of her cheeks indicated she hadn't smiled for years. Her lips were pressed into a grim, pale line.

Bony hands held onto a small black controller that was pointed at the creature in front of her. Even through nearly four inches of glass, the IR beam could reach the boy's chunky collar.

Orion was recognisable as the old teenage boy in the centre of the arena. He had the ears and tail of an Umbreon, not to mention the glowing red eyes of the species. The young man was skinny to the point that his muscles seemed to cling to a framework of bones. Black fur tufted out from under his threadbare grey clothing, disguising his otherwise humanoid appearance. The fur was the only thing that acted to cover the parts of him that were scarred, burnt, singed, or bruised from the torment of years of training. Around his neck hung a bulky shock collar, spanning most of his shoulders with the extra capacitors that had been added over the years.

His face still held some of that boyish look, although now all he appeared to show was pure anguish. Orion was pulling back as the coarse chain that kept him tied to the centre of the arena. Even then, he had backed away as far as he could. Hunched over, the Umbreon-morph had his arms wrapped around his legs as he fought to make himself as small as possible.

Tears streamed down his face.

'I c..c..can't Mmmel. I can't br...bre...do it!'

His rings were glowing fiercely, swirling round in unsettling blinding colours of gold and yellow. The motions of the light display seemed to mimic the teenager's emotions as he fought back tears. Only high-pitched whines broke his sobbing.

Melissa had seen enough. She'd decided to head out of the observation room and punched open the button controlling the huge steel door into the arena. Striding across the stone floor, the woman seemed unaffected by the show of emotion. Towering over the hybrid only seemed to make the Umbreon appear small. Melissa kicked the boy with a solid thwack into the side to get his attention. It was only after she had Orion's red gaze fixed on her that she bent down, staring-out the boy in a death-glare that could have melted flesh from bone.

Melissa's tired eyes that lacked all hope, love, and affection. Instead, these had been replaced with the cold maniacal gaze of a person who desired only one goal.

Revenge.

'I don't understand Orion.' Melissa tutted loudly, 'Are you telling me you're not strong enough to take on this Pokémon? After everything I have done for you?'

There was silence, but for the hybrid's gentle sobbing. After a few moments Orion pulled himself together, his ears lowering as he struggled to speak through the tears.

'She...She is the Creator! I cannot destroy…'

Without warning the boy yelped loudly. It was a purely animalistic sound as Orion cried out, spasming as the shock collar took full effect. His body went rigid before toppling without control onto the hard concrete. And there he stayed.

The hybrid's chest rose and fell heavily as he regained his breath.

Melissa seemed unfazed by the torture she had just caused, spinning the controller round in one hand. A worn wedding ring hung loosely off her finger and it clicked noisily against the black remote.

'Let me rephrase that question, vermin, for you have no choice on the matter. Come this time next week we will be leaving for Mount Coronet where you will fulfill your purpose. So there is no question Orion. You will do AS I SAY.'

The morph whined loudly, 'I caaaAAHHH…!'

Orion was interrupted by another bolt of pain coursing through his body. The capacitors had recharged and sent yet another dose of electricity tore through the morph's body. Writhing on the floor, the Umbreon was in too much torment to do anything but cry tears through the electrocution. Gasping for breath like a Magikarp out of water, there was nothing the boy could do.

He collapsed in defeat, retching loudly as his stomach tried to empty its contents. Panting noisily, he rolled the feeling back into his jaw, and the feeling back into his spine. A dark pain existed behind his eyes, like a black cloud that started to fill him head.

'She is the creator.' Orion got out in gasps. 'There..'

'I AM YOUR MASTER.' Melissa cut through fiercely, 'I am commanding you Orion. FIGHT.'

The Umbreon had his eyes squeezed closed as a trickle of blood appeared behind the leather of his collar.

'The...The balance of the w..world could be…BREee!'

'ORION!' Melissa kicked the boy in the stomach and this time he was sick. She didn't care however, as she reached down and pulled the boys rolling head to one side; digging her nails into an long Umbreon ear. 'LOOK at me when I TALK to YOU!'

For a long moment it was as if the boy was questioning whether he wanted to give up there and then. Sprawled across the floor, he was barely breathing anymore. For a long while he failed to respond. Then, with a wince, he cracked his eyes open. They were glowing maroon silhouettes which were too unfocused to create a picture of the misery he lived in. Even his eyes couldn't fathom the hell his life had suddenly become.

'You c..can't take on…' Orion was struggling to speak, 'The world needs balance...'

Orion blinked, but still his vision failed to materialize.

Melissa bent down slowly, muscles tensing with the ease and grace of a Ekans ready to strike. Dispassionately, she reached out a finger and brushed a stray black hair across the teenager's forehead. Orion was gleaming sweat and with cold unconcerned look, Melissa rubbed the moisture off her hands down the fabric or her jeans.

'Why are you are so rebellious my pet? You believe those fairytales about Vetra and the Legendaries maintaining peace? Do you understand what they did to my family? What they stole from ME!? After all this time I thought you had learnt to love your master - and that she knows best? But sometimes when you misbehave...well...you're no better than the other vermin those trainers call Pokémon...'

Melissa's voice was eerily sweet. It was a hollow mimicry of how she used to speak to Jenny. But there was no emotion in her tone as the woman forced out a heavy sigh.

'They did this! You will fix it Orion.'

The Umbreon-morph whined, whether it was from fear or panic was unknown.

Melissa seemed unruffled,

'You know why you are here Orion. Only dark types can use the Azure Flute to access the Hall of Origin. And you were chosen Orion. Out of all the hybrids I tried to create, you were the only one that worked! A 10 % chance of success they said, who's laughing now! And now you have the ultimate prize that any Pokémon would crave. This is your chance to battle with the greatest legendary of all time!'

She pursed her lips, eyeing the boy who seemed to be frozen in place from a combination of paralysis and the fear of upsetting his master - His master who had the power to cripple him instantaneously with a press of a switch. And even when that was taken away from her, Melissa's very voice could call upon a pain more intense then any training injury. This was his master who had trained him from birth to become the strongest living weapon of all time. Melissa had no consideration for cost, nor empathy, nor understanding of the monster she had created.

His Master. The woman who had lost her husband and with that her entire world.

Melissa, in her anguished and deranged state had fallen into a furious insanity. She had the drive not only to resurrect her husband from the grave, but to take down the very legendary beings which stopped her from doing so. It was not enough that they took her beloved, they had to suffer. She would break the very fabric of the universe if she had to. She would challenge the Gods themselves.

So far, it had taken nearly two decades to do that. But she was close. Oh so close! With the help of her inherited medical business empire, she could siphon off as much money to fund her lust for revenge. With the cutting edge of bioengineering behind her, Melissa had created the ultimate weapon capable of cheating death itself: A dark type able to sneak into the Hall of Origin and defeat the very Legendaries who had scarred this earth. Melissa had created an Umbreon with enough power to if not destroy the Gods, at the very least pull back the soul of her husband from the dark beyond.

But Orion refused to fulfill his destiny.

Ever so slowly, the teenager came to his senses.

'Bre...bre um...um…' Orion had to mouth the words a few time before he could make the sounds required in his throat, 'I can't do it!' The boy was practically crying.

Melissa sighed, laying a hand on the boy's head in such a tender manner it seemed completely out of place with the pain she had inflicted on the morph only minutes before.

'Rest little one. I know you are scared. But just think! A few weeks time and you would have beaten the strongest Pokémon in existence, returned a soul from the divide, and can spend the rest of your days frolicking in the forest to your heart's content with your mother…'

The woman paused, before mumbling darkly.

'That is what you were born to do. You were made to put things right. No more control. No more Gods.'

Upon uttering those words, the image froze. Time slowed down to a crawl and an eventual stop. The tape had come to the end of the track and was awaiting turning, as if to play the side B in reverse.

The silence that remained appeared infinite.

---

BLUE ON BLUE

---

At last until I pulled myself out of the memories.

It was like dragging myself out of a deep, bottomless lagoon. Afterimages of the terror clung to my consciousness still, even as I attempted to dry off the snippets of past, present, and future. The hologram faded and I returned to myself - becoming starkly aware that I was no longer looking through my own eyes. For all purposes it was as if I was inhabiting Hauser's body. I could feel his presence even as I gasped for breath.

After what had just happened, by brain struggled to make sense of everything.

Music floated softly into my awareness. The piano chords tickled at my memory before I recognised the tune. It was Nina Simone, with the classic tune of 'My Baby Just Cares for Me' sounding from what could have only been a vinyl player. The static lofi crackle in the background added a warm quality to the music. I knew the song but it was far from music I enjoyed. And this was playing in Orion's mind?

'Where are we?' I thought out loud, feeling the words sink into the awareness of the Lucario.

At last my eyes seemed to work, or at least Hauser became aware of his vision returning. It was hard to tell the difference between the two of us at this point. Our awareness seemed to have merged to the point that our actions had become one. Was this what it was supposed to feel like?

It was only then that I felt the Lucario's voice as if from a distance.

'I do not understand what this place is.'

We were stood in some kind of kitchen.

When I say 'we' I mean we were both stood in the kitchen, staring at each other with confusion on opposite sides of a large wooden table. The simple awareness that I was back inside my body was beautifully refreshing and I took a moment to study my hands. Everything seemed exactly like it should have been - bar the fact that Hauser and I were stood in a somewhat eerie kitchen. Everything looked like it should have, but seemed out of place. Checkered vinyl floor, stout tables and chair, and then a sideboard lined with cupboards. Even an old window looking across a well-kept cottage garden. It was too normal.

A child's crayon drawing was stuck to the fridge door. It seemed to depict a number of trees in a grassy field, though the coarse rendering was difficult to decipher. The fact that the sky was a darker shade of purple than it should have been was somewhat disturbing. A small farm was badly drawn sat in the middle of it all.

'Hauser?' I asked, feeling my words roll around my tongue. 'We're still in his mind...right?'

'Certainly.' The Lucario nodded slightly, 'But this is unlike anything I've ever known.'

Hauser seemed to consider his words carefully.

It was at that exact moment that a young Leafeon padded his way into the kitchen. Sniffing at the air slightly, the Pokémon seemed completely unaware of the two strangers stood in the room. In fact, he pretty much walked through the Lucario on his way over to a few water bowls placed next to the fridge. Hauser seemed to be a little more than a hologram.

For some reason, that seemed to relax the Pokémon. The Lucario grinned, showing white teeth,

'That's better. This is what it should have been like. Whatever happened before, we seem to be in Orion's memories now…' Hauser trailed off, pacing the kitchen as he explored the small room. The Leafeon sniffed around at my feet - though I had to remind myself that this was in no way real. That became an even bigger challenge when a young Orion skidded through the door.

The boy looked exactly like he should have been - apart from being a few years younger. He had a wide grin on his face as he slid to a stop, bare feet providing little grip on the vinyl. In a pair of tattered beige shorts and a thin checkered shirt, Orion even went as far to complete the look with a battered green rain jacket. It was a struggle to stop myself from laughing. The teenager took a moment to find the Leafeon in the kitchen before speaking warmly.

'Umbre um umm bre.'

My ears didn't recognise the sound and I sent a questioning look towards Hauser.

The Lucario was crouching slightly, watching Orion closely over the length of his black snout. Hauser seemed transfixed by the Umbreon-morph, studying the teenager like an exhibit in a museum. Not wanting to disturb the Pokémon, I didn't have to wait long before Orion jogged out of the kitchen with the Leafeon in-tow. Only then did Hauser sigh heavily, scratching at his ears.

'What is it?' I asked, 'Why couldn't I understand him?'

'Because he was speaking Pokémon.' Hauser shrugged, before patting at his fur, 'But this doesn't work. He called that Leafeon his father! So if this is his past - then what did we just experience in that compound? It makes no sense…'

The Lucario rubbed his temples.

'People don't have two pasts.' He mumbled, scratching at his face in frustration. 'You wanna check this out?' He asked at last, fixing me with an intense red-eyed stare. My brain was still trying to catch up with everything that just happened.

'What was that place? It was like Orion was some kind of animal! They...the…' The bottom had dropped out of my stomach. 'They made the virus for him! That's what we saw right? They created the virus to make Orion stronger but for some reason...they…'

'Calm down Fenn.' Hauser stepped towards my, balancing lightly on his paws. He placed a large paw on my shoulder, his crimson eyes level with my own. 'We can't go jumping to conclusions. I don't know what we just experienced. Maybe it was some past trauma, or maybe it was just some internalised dream. We know Orion isn't well at the moment.'

I just nodded,

'There's more to Orion than meets the eye.' Hauser withdraw his paw before shrugging lightly, 'You might end up with more questions than answers.'

'And by that you're suggesting…?'

'Humph.' The Lucario wrinkled up his nose, 'I can see why you and Orion get on so well. Let's see where we've found ourselves. You alright to carry on?'

All I could do was nod gently, trying to steady my breath. I didn't point out that Hauser had stealthy avoided my own line of inquiry. Deciding that now might not be the best time to pursue those concerns, I headed towards the door and popped my head through. On the other side was a narrow hallway, as well a staircase to the floor above. Sneaking across to check out what was behind the other doors, my attention was caught by a photo on the wall. It was a family snap of a middle-aged man and woman, both smiling happily as they sat on a picnic blanket with a small boy between them. Orion was beaming happily, with his hand wrapped in warm hug around two Leafeons.

'Look at this.' I waved Hauser over, 'This is Orion isn't it?'

'Indeed. But he looks younger than what we saw him in those last...memories.'

'Exactly.' I nodded in triumph, 'And you're sure that these are his real memories right?'

'Positive.' Hauser agreed,

The Lucario studied the photo for a few moments, before turning his attention to the other doors coming off the hallway. At the base of the stairs, one was left ajar and the sounds of a television playing could be heard from the room inside. The simple sound of modern technology stung a little. This was what it was like before the virus. A snapshot of how life should have been.

The noise was coming from a living room. It was only small, with a window looking out across the countryside and a minor road trailing across the farmland. A few pictures dotted the windowsill, many of them showing what I could only guess were family and friends - and Orion of course. He seemed to appear frequently in the photos with a Leafeon or two at his side. He had said they were his parents? If the decorations were anything to go by, it appeared that his real parents were…

Wait one second.

I took another look at the photos.

In every photo Orion had the characteristic Umbreon ears and bright crimson eyes that he had now. Yet the numerous pictures of the young teenager were from years before the outbreak ever occurred. It was as if Orion had always been part Umbreon. Either that, or his memories had been so deformed by the infection that it had overwritten his past. Was that even possible?

Already my mind returned to our past experience which appeared shown Orion had been the design of some deranged organization. A lump came to my throat. I no longer felt so comfortable knowing that I was somehow rattling through the inside of Orion's mind.

'This isn't like Inception is it?' I asked Hauser quietly, 'We're not going to get stuck in limbo or anything.'

'I have no idea what you mean.' The Lucario admitted from behind.

'Or maybe like the final Vetra movie. You know?' I explained briefly, 'With the evil Mudkip. You must have been there for that one. There was even a Lucario in the movie!'

It took Hauser a long few seconds to answer.

'I don't think those human films are representative.' He spoke flatly. The Lucario wasn't really paying much attention. Once more, he was focused on Orion and the other inhabitants of the memory. The Umbreon-morph was snuggled up on a plush fabric sofa with the Leafeon he'd just disturbed from the kitchen. The Pokémon had his tail wrapped around the boy, and his muzzle leaning on his knee. It appeared they were both transfixed by the television. On an adjacent sofa perched an old woman, probably in her mid-fifties. She had a cup of tea perched on one had as she flicked through a newspaper.

Hauser and I were mere holograms, present but isolated from the situation laid before us.

An old cathode ray tube TV was playing a live Pokémon battle being filmed somewhere exotic. I couldn't place the arena, though the competition appeared rather heated between a Rhyhorn and a Hitmonchan. They were trading blows, with a deeply engrossed Orion completely absorbed in the action. Now and then he muttered something to his Leafeon companion, absently running a hand through their thick beige fur.

'What are they saying?' I asked Hauser. For a moment it was as if he was ignoring me, before finally the Lucario turned and offered me a small grin.

'Orion is commenting on the battle.' He seemed to be chuckling at something, 'Anyways. I'm intrigued and feel it's my responsibility to delve further.' I wasn't sure whether the Lucario was talking about Orion or the television show.

Meanwhile, I was still trying to make sense of everything. Had Orion been telling the truth in our meeting? I mean, he had called the Leafeon his dad! But it was like he had suddenly appeared in this house and I wasn't entirely sure if the images of Orion in the compound had been imaginary or not. It was like waking from a dream. Already, my recollection was fading.

My attention returned to Hauser sharply.

'You're not telling me everything are you?' I asked, trying to make my voice as firm as possible. Where before he had been studying the images flashing on the television, Hauser's expression seemed to harden. Any emotion across the steel-types greying muzzle was difficult to decipher. That didn't stop a bubble of uncertainty developing in my gut as he straightened.

'It's complicated Fenn. I'm not sure how much…' He stopped suddenly, before rubbing at his eyes. With a sigh, the Lucario picked his words carefully, 'You can't just force your way into people's memories. It's like sneaking through the back door, to use a more human analogy. What we saw was chaotic.'

The activity in the living room continued as normal, the inhabitants of the illusion unaware of the heated conversation taking place in space before them.

'So those were his repressed memories? The things he'd forced to the back of his mind?'

The Lucario looked pained,

'That is a rather crude way of putting it. But yes. It was like Orion's mind was...was…'

Whilst Hauser struggled once more to find the correct words, I butted in with the question waiting on the tip of my tongue.

'That was a memory? What we saw really happened?'

Hauser nodded, puffing air through his nose in a clearly irritated.

'If you don't keep bothering me with questions, I can focus on the matter to hand.'

'Which is trying to find out what the matter is with Orion!' I flung my hands up in exasperation.

Hauser's eyes narrowed.

In my defense, I did a very good job of trying to stare him down. I wasn't someone who gave up easily.

'I get it.' He crossed his arms, displaying the faded steel spikes extending from his paws, 'You think Orion is the cause of the virus. Given what we saw, that is indeed a possibility. What we're seeing here now? No. It doesn't make sense.'

He paused, fixing me with a grim stare,

'So let me ask. Are you truly worried for Orion.'

'YES.' I felt the need to shout, but held back. It didn't stop me biting off the end of the word fiercely.

For some reason, Hauser had burst out into a chuckle.

'Let's get started then.' The Pokémon moved over to the living room door. Even though we were both holograms of some kind, he managed to close the door firmly. With a loud click the metal handle locked into place. Turning to me with a cheeky grin on the face, all I could do was stare. What was Hauser even doing?

Behind us, a teenage Orion curled up with the Leafeon completely unawares.

'Right. You know what lucid dreaming is right? The easiest way to travel through memories is through expectation. So. What what do you want to see?'

'Uhhh…' I struggled to make heads or tails of his sudden change in mood, 'How about when he was a younger?'

'We can try.' Hauser opened the door in a smooth motion, pushing down the handle was a bit of difficult with his black paws. Instead of the hallway beyond as I'd assumed there would be - was a completely black void. The door opened onto vantablack nothingness. My eyes struggled to make sense of the complete lack of focus.

'That's not right.' The Lucario closed the door once more, 'Let's try again.'

Once more the white living room door opened to reveal nothing but a shapeless black void.

Hauser turned to me with a deep frown,

'Well. Apparently those memories don't exist.'

His voice was deadpan.

From the kitchen, 'Blue Moon' was playing softly.

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XXX

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[3.17] Kansas - Dust in the Wind (1977)

I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment's gone

All my dreams pass before my eyes, a curiosity

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Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. This story is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to any events, location, and/or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. The views expressed by the characters and/or the narratives do not necessarily reflect the author's views. This fiction is rated T and may be unsuitable for young audiences. 'Fort Haste' is a fictional concept that is owned and regulated by ZenColour.