Chapter Two
Matt
As I fell into bed, the water from the pool was still dripping off me. I completely collapsed into the bed, nearly falling asleep on impact. It really wasn't that soft, but, compared to battling, it was heaven.
After sleeping for a few minutes, I finally awoke, starving. Walking down to the kitchen, I found some Pokefood in a cupboard, and tossed a bit into my mouth. Sitting down at the table, I rested my head on my hands, trying to think more clearly.
Suddenly, there was a voice on the intercom. "Matt Oftre, report to the training area immediately! Matt Oftre, report . . ." The voice droned on as I stood up to leave.
I couldn't believe they were making me fight again; I had barely gotten any rest. Walking to a door, I didn't even let it open, instead ramming straight through with my full anger energizing me. They had opponents waiting on the other side of the field, a Tropius and a Gyarados.
I walked to my side of the field and the battle began. Tropius shot out several Razor Leaves. Barely dodging them, I dived into the pool, running into Gyarados. Angered, he shot a Hyper Beam towards me. Barely dodging it, I jumped out of the pool as Tropius clipped me with a Solarbeam he had been charging. It slammed me up against the wall, just as I shot an Ice Beam towards Gyarados, who had now surfaced. Obvously angered, Gyarados shot another Hyper Beam at me, this time striking me in the chest. Falling to the ground, I felt like dying.
Tropius then flew over my body, slamming me into the ground and finishing up with Giga Drain. This was way harder than any other battle I had ever been in. My body said to lay down and die, but I wanted to end this, end it now. Forcing myself to stand, I ran at full force towards Gyarados. I jumped onto his back, shot several ice beams at his neck and began ripping at his flesh. Jumping to Tropius, I grabbed him round the neck while he fired more and more Razor Leaves at me. They scratched my side, leaving marks. I finished him off with a quick bash to the head and a few Ice Beams.
Again, I collapsed to the ground, tired beyond belief. My body was in complete and total pain, aching all over, and it appeared as though I was bleeding. The men came and carried me away to my room, where I got to sleep for a while.
Zeod
"Alana!" I yelled, trotting up to her as she left the room. "Look, I'm sorry for what happened back there. I couldn't help it. You have every right to attack me for that Attack back there," I said.
I really was sorry. I didn't mind battling Pokemon as long as I wasn't being controlled, but I hated battling the other hybrids and being controlled.
"Who is your friend? Can I meet her?" Pony asked.
"Sure! Since you're a part of me, you should be able to meet my friends," I said. Alana looked confused. "Pony is my Ponyta. His DNA was fused with mine and his mind lies in the back of mine, allowing us to communicate," I explained.
I let Pony take over. "Hello. I am Pony. Nice to meet you," he said, using my body to talk to Alana. "If Zeod is ever thinking, then you will be talking to me, so I come out a lot," Pony said, explaining how our mind switch worked. He waited to see what Alana would say.
Alana
I didn't quite know what to say. It was as if Zeod had two personalities inside him . . . Then, I reminded myself that he did, that I was talking to the Ponyta he was blended with. And that was what surprised me more than anything else. I could understand such a thing happening with Psychic Pokemon, but Ponyta was a Fire Type. However strong its bond with its trainer . . .
"So, um . . . Pony," I began. "Tell me about yourself . . ." I paused and waited for him to reply.
"There's not really much to tell. I was Zeod's Pokemon at the Trainers' School and . . ."
"You mean the one in Rustboro?" I interrupted.
"Yes. Zeod was the best trainer in his year, but he kept pushing me real hard and they said he'd have to stay on until he learnt to respect me. Anyway, he was taking me to the Pokemon Centre one night when . . ."
"What's going on here?!"
A Proteus agent was marching towards us, his face as black as thunder. Zeod blinked a few times, then smiled at the man casually. I tried to look as though I had no idea what was happening, but it wasn't easy. Proteus had ways of knowing things, as I'd found out to my cost in the past. Still, I hoped this guy hadn't noticed anything unusual; if they found out Zeod could communicate with the Ponyta he was blended with . . .
"N - nothing," I stammered, wincing as he grabbed hold of my shoulder.
"Nothing, what?!" the agent barked.
"Nothing, S - Sir," I said quickly. We were supposed to address all the agents as "Sir" or "Ma'am", but the rule was one of the few that wasn't strictly enforced. This agent, however, was one of the exceptions.
He grunted at us. "Don't play dumb with me! You . . ." He jabbed me in the chest. " . . . are in a whole heap of trouble after what happened in the training area. I've been sent to tell you to get yourself in your room and stay there!"
"Don't worry - I'm going," I muttered as I walked away. I was so sick of this place, this - I searched for the right words - boot camp. I would be confined to my room for the rest of the day as "punishment" for my little rebellion against Proteus and the other hybrids in the facility would be banned from speaking to me, even via telepathy. There were two Psychic Type hybrids (an Espeon girl named Crystal and an Alakazam boy named Luke) here and they'd both developed their telepathic powers so we could talk without Proteus knowing. But they soon got wise to it and, every time one of us got punished, they would activate some sort of device that blocked Psychic energy.
Anyway, as soon as I was in my room, I slumped down on the uncomfortable bed and thought things over. What Attack had I used back there? I remembered feeling really angry and ticked off a few seconds before, but Mightyena can't learn Rage. Was it Frustration? Probably. I'd never understood the point of that move, but I did once read that it is strongest when the Pokemon hates its trainer. And I certainly hated those arrogant Proteus goons.
Zeod
I flipped minds with Pony and looked at the Proteus goon. My eyes had fire in them. "You punished her for nothing!" I yelled. "She was telling you the truth!" as I said this, my hand burst into flames. I had discovered that, even though Ponyta couldn't leard Fire Punch, I could still use it by sending the flames on my hooves to my hand.
"We were just talking about our lives before we were hybrids. I was telling her about my Ponyta. You accused her of doing something wrong. I can't let that go unpunished." I punched my flaming fist in his face. They were probably going to take my food privileges for this one.
He hit an alarm on the wall as he fell. A whole squad of goons came running. The two in the lead were the ones that were controlling Alana and me. I took off running in the direction Alana went.
When I got to her room, I burned a hole through the door. "I could use some help here. I was getting back at them for punishing you for nothing and the alarm got tripped. The one in lead was the one controlling you. Think you would like to join the party?" I asked, moving away from the hole so she could get out.
Jason
I was in the battle room, but I could hardly beat even the weakest Pokemon. I was fighting a Golduck and it pushed me to the ground. I slid a bit and then got hit by a powerful Psybeam. I was down for the count.
"You are a worthless piece of dirt! I wonder why Number 1 would be so stupid as to keep you around," said a grunt, recalling his Pokemon.
He gave me a kick in the side. It hurt a lot. I tried to fight back, but I was reluctant to try and do what I wanted to do most: kill the man. I started to crawl away to a doorway and was just at the exit when the man came up to me and grabbed me by the scruff of the neck. "You are not done yet," he told me. "Number 1 wants to see you in his office."
A few minutes later, I was kicked into a room with only a chair and a wall screen. This was Number 1's office. It was a black room, with no light except the one emitting from the wall screen. On the screen, a shadow walked in front of the camera.
"Jason, it seems that you are a weakling; you cannot even beat a Golduck. I'm sorry, but I guess you just are too much trouble to keep. We must eliminate you. But, to serve as a example to the others, you will be destroyed in battle by my powerful Dragon Types. Then, when you're dead and gone, I'm sure the others won't be so inclined to not serve us."
"You . . . monster!" I cried out.
A maniac's laugh was heard booming through the room. Then, when I looked to my arms and legs, I found they were restrained by metal straps. A hole appeared in the floor; it opened up and I was dropped into it. I slid into a large collosseum and an iron gate closed behind me. The opposite end of the roon held a horde of snarling beasts that looked ready to kill.
Crystal
The Umbreon lunged at me and, before I could react, I was bitten in the left arm by a vicious Bite Attack. All I could muster was a soft: "Ow!" while the Dark Pokemon's teeth dug in a little deeper. My eyes glowed a violent lavender, ready to cast a Psychic. Though the Attack would not harm a Dark Type like Umbreon, it could pry him off of me so I wouldn't lose a chunk out of my arm.
The Dark Pokemon glowed the same hue of lavender and let go of my arm, slowly but surely. I flicked him across the room, letting him hit the cold, hard, steel wall. That didn't make the Umbreon give up, though. He rammed me into the wall with a Faint Attack. "Argh! This Pokemon is out to get me!" I thought as I screamed with pain.
The Umbreon wasn't finished with me yet. He used Confuse Ray. When I tried to attack the blasted Pokemon, I just end up hitting a wall. "Oh, woe is me!" I thought.
The Confusion was lifted when I hit the tenth wall in a row. The Umbreon was now charging towards me. Out of fear, my tail started glowing a silver color and used my tail to knock out the Pokemon. An Iron Tail Attack, it was called. I was tired, but I these agents didn't know when enough was enough. They sent out a Sneasel and an Absol.
Fatigued, I plopped on the ground, hoping that I could get a few winks of sleep and that they would bring me to my room if that were the case. I was motionless; I couldn't move.
Atsuto
It was a typical day here at Proteus's base of operations. I was sitting in my room, examining in my claws again. I had been turning them over for quite some time, wondering just what they'd be useful for in the real world. After a couple of weeks I had finally come to one conclusion. "It'll be freakishly hard to play guitar with these."
Sighing, I turned my hand over, looking at my skin. It had attained the green color of a Flygon, though it made me look more sickly pale than anything. I flexed my fingers, concentrating so that a blue aura encircled them. It was the brightest source of light I could find in these cold, dim cells they kept us in. Seriously, didn't they ever think that in order for us to be fully healthy and battleworthy, we'd have to live in good conditions too? These guys didn't seem too smart, nor were they sympathetic towards us.
There were a certain few grunts who appeared to be in the middle, loyal to Number 1 but kind to us when nobody was looking. At least, some of them were nice to me. I didn't really know about the others; they didn't talk to me much. I looked up as the door to my cell opened and an older grunt stared down at me, his eyes narrowed in disgust. "Hey, kid, c'mon. It's time to . . ." The grunt stopped, staring at my glowing hands. "What're you doin'?"
"Oh, you mean my hands?" I asked, biding my time, "You see . . . uh . . . they've attained minds of their own. And they were about to scrape my face off." I dimmed out the aura. "But then, thankfully, you appeared! They're so scared of your face that they promised never to ravage mine, just in case I end up looking like I had a blender accident too. Thank you sooooo much!" I grinned brightly, holding my arms out wide.
The guy looked at me like I was nuts, muttered something about going to the training facility, then walked quickly in the other direction. People had to come down to my room everyday to tell me what I was supposed to do because I "accidentally" knocked out the speaker system within my room due to its loudness and the way it annoyingly echoed off the metallic walls. And for some strange reason, the repair men refused to come down here. They thought I was rabid or something.
I peeked my head out of the door that was left open by the fleeing grunt. Turning back, I removed my tan trenchcoat, placing it on the bed. I held my father's cross to my chest as a good luck prayer before walking out of the cell. The door automatically closed behind me as I turned and made my way towards the arena, my large dragon feet slapping against the ground.
Alana
I was grateful to Zeod for getting me out, but I was also worried. If we got caught, we would be in even more trouble than we were in already. And I knew the chances of us getting out of the lab alive were virtually zero, what with all the extra security measures installed after the last breakout. Even Luke couldn't help us, since these included a Teleport-proof barrier around the entire facility.
"Now what do we do?" I asked as we hid in a store cupboard. "We can't stay here forever."
"Don't remind me. But we can't risk facing those goons either; they're just too powerful."
I thought about the rest of the hybrids - Heather, Crystal, Matt, Jason and all the rest - and how we had been ordinary kids until Proteus got hold of us. Now, we were no longer human; we were beings with the DNA and the abilities of Pokemon, but what was it all for? What did Number 1 hope to achieve with his mad experiments? "Well, what can we do?" I demanded, even though I knew they was no easy answer.
In the dim light of his flames, I could see Zeod looking at me. He seemed to be on the verge of saying something, but, before he could, the speakers began blaring again. We didn't think too much of it at first, but, as we listened, it became clear that this was no ordinary call for someone to "report to the battle area."
"Attention, all experimental subjects! This is an important announcement from Number 1! At 19:00 tonight, you will all assemble outside, where you will receive news and instructions regarding the next phase of your training. That is all."
Zeod and I looked at each other speechlessly, both of us wondering the same thing: what were Proteus up to now?
Matt
Water dripping from my back, I lay in wait, staring at my ceiling. It was one of the roughest days Proteus had ever put me through. For some reason, they were making the training a lot harder and a lot longer. But the question was, why? Why did they spend all this time and money raising our power? Why did Number 1 want us?
Suddenly, I was awoken from my thoughts as the nearby speaker began buzzing and a voice came on, commanding everyone to assemble outside tonight. I rolled over on my bed, wondering what was going to happen.
"Maybe they'll release us," I thought, hopes beginning to rise as I rose out of bed, walked down the hall and grabbed a meal before heading to a room near the door which led outside. If they were actually going to let us out for any reason, I wanted to be first in line.
Crystal
I was in my bed. It was harder than a rock and the blanket was so sheer that I shivered in the night. It was better than nothing, but you would think that, if they wanted their subjects fully healthy and battleworthy, they would keep us in good conditions as well. In retrospect, they were as dim as these cold, damp cells.
I concentrated my energy into a little ball of lavender light, the only light I could ever find in this joint. It was the only source of entertainment I had as well. The ball dimmed slightly as the speakers blared into my ear. They said that, at 7 o'clock tonight, we were to report outside to receive news and instructions for the next step of our already intense training. I frowned at the thought of it; if I barely survived the Umbreon, I didn't know if I was going to make it.
My stomach rumbled as I looked at the clock, which showed 6:00 pm. "I have a good hour to grab a bite to eat," I thought as I walked out of my door to the kitchen.
I took out a jar of Pokemon food and a bowl. The food looked like pellets and only a few people I knew actually liked the taste. I shrugged it off and took half a bowl of it. I sat down and started eating it like I would potato chips. I missed the food that I ate when I was fully human, like pizza and salad.
I sighed, still munching on the pellet-like snack.
Alana
At seven o'clock that night, we all made our way outside. I was feeling apprehensive, wondering what Proteus had in store for us now and knowing that, whatever it was, it could only be bad for us. As I walked down the corridor that led outside, I heard some of the others talking.
"What do you suppose they want this time?" asked Matt, a youth who had been blended with a Swampert.
"Maybe they're taking us on an all expenses paid trip," joked Crystal. "Hopefully to somewhere nice."
I wished with all my heart that she could be right. But the realistic part of me told me that, wherever we were going, it would not be anywhere pleasant. Crystal was trying to be light-hearted, but the expression on her face betrayed her true feelings. We were at the mercy of our captors, compelled to go where they wished us to go. But what was going to happen to us? All I knew was that we were supposed to receive instructions about the next stage of our training.
Outside, we found Number 1 himself waiting for us. He was a tall man with brown hair and cold grey eyes, who always wore a business suit. It was said he had once been a Team Rocket member over in Kanto, but he and his supporters got kicked off after trying to depose Giovanni. That was why they had come to Hoenn and set up the Proteus organisation. They had plans, plans that could not be realised unless they set up their own criminal gang.
"What's he doing here?" muttered Heather, the Seviper hybrid. She was something of a loner and did not trust others easily.
"Yeah," agreed Jason, adjusting the sunglasses he always wore. "Since when does he make personal appearances?"
It was as if something had snapped in Heather. Suddenly, she flew at Jason in a rage, her Seviper fangs bared. "Shut it, you piece of crap!" she snapped. "No-one asked for your opinion - as if anyone cares what a Zangoose . . ." She practically spat the name of Jason's hybrid form out. " . . . thinks! So shut the hell up!"
"Why don't you shut up, snake girl!" retorted Jason. He and Heather had never got along; the fact that he was a Zangoose hybrid and she was a Seviper hybrid had had some effect on their attitude towards each other. We had all heard these quarrels many times before, but I couldn't help wishing they would give it a rest sometimes. We were all in this together.
However, on this occasion, the argument was cut short as Number 1 began to address us. "Well, my little crossbreed proteges," he said, a sinister grin on his face, "I'm pleased to see you've all come so far in your training. The . . ." He cleared his throat. " . . . loss of four of you was unfortunate, but those of you who remain are now ready to receive more intense training than we can offer."
We exchanged uneasy glances. "More intense training" could mean only one thing; we were going to be pushed even harder than we were already.
"I have chartered a plane to take you to Pyrite Town," Number 1 continued. "It will be leaving within the hour - and all of you are going to be on it."
As we were led towards the plane, something occurred to me. Wasn't Pyrite Town in Orre?
Matt
"Plane?" I thought to myself.
Being mixed with Swampert, a Water/Ground Type, I was terrified of heights. I didn't mind heights too much when I was human, but, since I was mixed with Swampert, things had changed. Flying was suddenly a less than enjoyable experience.
"And why Pyrite Town anyways?" I wondered. The last time I had been in Orre, it too was quite unenjoyable, always hot and dry, no wild Pokemon. Why would Number 1 want to send us there? Things just didn't make sense.
Since most of us didn't really have anything that we really owned, we headed towards the place where the plane waited to take us away. Getting on quickly, I took my seat and waited.