Midnight's Shadow

I open my eyes slowly, groggily. Around me, men in white lab coats work on various machines and monitors, and I… I am in some kind of tube full of water. A glass wall separates me from them. But… how I know this, I am uncertain. I have never been before. I try to move, but the amount of tubes and wires inserted throughout my body make it painful and difficult to do so. I must be on life support, for one of the tubes comes free and I feel myself slipping back into darkness...

Again, my eyes drift open. I am being taken from the tank of water I was in before. They notice I am awake and seem very happy. But why? I am left to wonder as they lay me down and remove the wires and other things inserted into my skin. I feel freer now. One of them, a woman with blue eyes and brown hair, sits next to me and strokes my head gently. It feels comforting and gentle, and I lean closer to her. She turns to one of the other humans and says, "I can't believe it was a success. Pokémon have rarely been successfully genetically engineered, but never when they are only partially biological. This is incredible! We'll go down in history for this!"

…Partially biological? I look at her questioningly and she smiles again, then stands. "Lets hook him up to the advanced X-ray and see what its like now that he's actually up and moving."

I look at the screen as they strap me in a standing position on a small podium surrounded by strange devices. All at once the devices shoot beams of light at me, illuminating the area. On the screen first come my vital signs. I blink and look more closely. A great deal of wires circulate through my body. A few of my organs are artificial… I am artificial. Only half real. I take a step and watch the wires onscreen flow easily with the movements of my muscles. It is eerie to see. There is someone strange approaching from far away. I try to see who it is…and my vision suddenly shoots forward. I can see him clearly, when a moment ago he was too far away. I panic and lunge against the bonds that hold me in place.

"What?"

"He focused the enhanced vision system on his own by accident. It scared him," a scientist said, stepping up and holding me still, telling me quietly that it's all right and that I should calm down. I do, but am still shaken. I am not natural. How did that happen? How did my vision zoom in like that? Just how much of me was not as it should be?

"He'll have to get used to it. Must be strange to know you're not fully biological," a second commented.

You don't know that. You are real, I think to myself. I am starting to get scared. Confused. So much is wrong here…

"Breee! Breeeeee!" I try to yell to them, but they cannot understand. All they hear is the sound I make, not the meaning behind the words. "Umbrreeeeon! Breeee!" I don't care if they do not understand. I want to get out of here. I lunge and the straps break. I bolt for the door and, as with my vision, when I focus too much on trying to go fast to outrun them, my speed becomes impossible for one of my build. I don't care. I run through the door and down the hall. There before me is a window, and I leap through. It is three stories to the ground, and I hit hard. But I get back up and keep running. Fear cancels out pain as I race for the concealment of a thick forest. Almost a mile into it, now. But my strength is fading. I fall but I cannot rise again. I try, but I fail. The world is fading around me…