THE REVENGE OF XD002

Rachel had again slept, once she had been put back in her pen, and again the dreams had been of a violent and aggressive nature. Upon waking, she found that once again the effects of the process had slightly dulled. She was convinced that if she came across Lovrina again that she'd be able to resist the urge to obey her, but unless that man who had promised to get her out acted quickly, the next time she was processed would be the end of her independence.

Looking up, she saw a technician coming to clean out her pen, and wondered if she could take a chance on overpowering him and getting away.

He stopped and asked "Is it true? You're human?"

"Yes." She replied.

"Stand back, I've come to release you. The man from earlier couldn't come so he sent me, and said as a technician I had more reason to be down here than him anyway. I can say I was cleaning your pen out and you attacked me. I would eat the rest of your food if I were you." He said, indicating the pokéchow, and Rachel saw the wisdom of this, and while she ate, he talked.

"There are several of us who disagree with what we're doing in this outfit at different levels. Some of us disagree with the whole Shadow Pokémon concept, others of us just disagree with messing about with the hearts of humans. Anyway, we managed to get our hands on a Shadow Pokémon for you to get away, we've got a belt for you to put it's poké ball on, and we've managed to adapt a lab coat for you to wear."

He showed her a lab coat that had had its sleeves removed and the arm holes enlarged so she could get her wings through them.

"After all." He said "you can't wander about in nothing but a swim suit." Rachel looked down, remembering that she had been taken from the sea after visiting Lu.

"I was taken while swimming." She said.

He unlocked her door, putting the belt with the poké ball on it around her waist, and helping her on with the lab coat.

"The way out is that way." he said, pointing. "Just hit me over the head or something before you go, and they won't suspect."

Rachel nodded, and he checked no-one was coming before turning his back on her.

"Well, hit me now and get it over with." He said.

Rachel struck him hard over the head with the bowl that had contained her poké chow, but then she felt her anger growing and her self-control slipping. She hadn't realised that this would be part of the Shadow process and a small part of her cringed while the rest of her just responded to the anger and the hate and the urge to fight, as she used her body as a weapon and slammed into the man so hard he hit the floor. She fell upon him, and beat and kicked at him, and then bit and clawed. Then she threw herself off him and curled up in a ball, trying to regain control. She got herself under control, and checked him. She had knocked him out, left him with bite and scratch marks, and likely as not more than a few bruises, as well as a large lump on his head.

"Sorry" she muttered, and then headed out.

Rachel couldn't say why she did it, perhaps she got distracted and went the wrong way, or maybe she wanted to look at the Processing Room one last time, but she found herself going through the doors into the Processing Room. There was no-one else there except for a familiar pink-haired figure, who turned to see who had just come in. She looked surprised to see Rachel.

"XD002, what are you doing here?" she asked. Not having an adequate answer, Rachel didn't respond. "Stay there." Said Lovrina, then appeared to change her mind. "Wait. Come here, XD002." Rachel did as she asked, wondering what would happen now, and if she could use this to her advantage. Lovrina smiled.

"I so believe you've decided to come and have yourself processed. I recall I so told you it would solve the turmoil. Why else would you come here instead of escaping, though I will so punish whoever opened your pen." She beckoned Rachel closer to the conveyor belt.

"Come my XD002, you will require no more injections now, no more sedation, for you will have no other loyalties or concerns to trouble you except to me and Cipher. I will try other techniques on you, perhaps I can so make as close to a Pokémon out of you as I can." She held out a hand to Rachel. "Come, I will so help you on to the conveyor belt." Something must have shown on her face, for Lovrina frowned and said "Or do you not trust me?"

Here Rachel saw perhaps a chance for revenge. She reached out as if to take Lovrina's hand and said "Of course. I am your XD002."

Lovrina smiled, took Rachel's hand gently, and turned to lead her to the conveyor belt. That dropped guard was all Rachel needed.

She allowed the anger to direct her moves, slamming into Lovrina hard. Lovrina cried out as she tripped and fell against the side of the machine. Rachel was on her in an instant. Rachel managed to keep to a basic double eye-blacking, and gave Lovrina a fat lip in human fashion before the rage took over once more. Lovrina, now whimpering, tried to crawl back from Rachel, but Rachel cut her no slack, slamming against her again and raining blows onto her.

"Please, XD002, stop!" she cried. "Whatever is wrong, the processing will sort it out, I won't even punish you because I realise something hasn't quite gone to plan with the processing. It must be something about being human!" Rachel stopped, panting for breath, trying to gain some self control. If she didn't keep a grip, she might lose her chance to escape. Lovrina took Rachel's quieting down as acquiescence to her pleading. She reached up towards Rachel.

"There, my XD002, we'll so get through this, I'll check the data and make it so all right and I'll so find out what went wrong and correct it." Lovrina brushed the fingers of her hand lightly down Rachel's cheek, and gave a little shriek of fright as Rachel violently slapped her hand away.

"Touch me like that again, and I'll kill you!" Rachel snarled. "I'm a human, not some poor Pokémon who's helpless to help themselves! I can tell you EXACTLY what went wrong!" Rachel backed up, she could at least allow Lovrina to stand, and Lovrina, back to the conveyor belt, got shakily to her feet, staring at Rachel with tears in her big green eyes.

"You underestimated me, Lovrina, that's where you went wrong." Rachel threw herself on Lovrina again, who shrieked. As she fell backwards, she landed on the conveyor belt, Rachel atop her, biting and kicking and scratching. Rachel just happened to look up and saw she was dangerously close to the entrance to the tunnel. She had no desire to be processed again, but waited till the last minute, pinning Lovrina's shoulders down. Lovrina cried out as she realised where she was heading, and tried to grab for Rachel, but Rachel nimbly jumped aside off her, and she heard Lovrina scream as she went headfirst into the mechanism.

"XD002, help me!" she heard Lovrina cry as she dropped down.

"My name is Rachel." Rachel called down after her. She looked around to make sure the noise had not yet brought anyone running-though if Lovrina continued to scream, it soon would- and then took off at a run for the doorway to the open.

Rachel was in luck: as she ran down the long passage away from the menacing pyramid, she noticed the two goons who usually guarded the door had been dealt with in some way: they were both out cold on the floor. She ran past them, meeting no resistance as she simply tried to put as much distance between the pyramid and herself as possible. She was no fool: she knew that she was likely to be pursued, but the desert she was in was a big place, and maybe she could lose them in it.

Meanwhile, back in the Processing Room, Lovrina tumbled out, sweating, shaking and rather green in the face. She put her hand to her head as it felt it was spinning. She tried to sit straighter, tried to sit forward and raise her head, but a lurch in the pit of her stomach made her realise that was a bad idea, just before her evening meal parted company with her stomach. Lovrina continued to be sick until she was merely dry heaving.

She put her head in her hands. She was bruised, scraped, covered in vomit and she didn't even have a tissue to wipe her mouth.

"This is so unfair." she whispered to herself.