I apologize for the long hiatus since the last chapter was posted. I'm also sorry if you find errors - I tried to catch everything, but the length works against my focus.
In terms of the purpose of this chapter, the characters are still being molded and Green's fate will be apparent. Be prepared for some anxiety build up from the Dex holders that appear. You will see the rest not mentioned soon.
Green closed his eyes, baring his teeth as another wave of pain came over him. Even though his body was going through hell, his mind was wired and passing out didn't seem like an option any time soon. This felt much worse than the first time he woke up here. He wanted to cry out again, but he wasn't about to let these people have the benefit of seeing him weak, especially this grinning bastard.
The man that stood over Green was simply delighted by the strained expression gracing his captive's face. It was so fun to see the boy's body tremble in futile attempt to bear with the agony he was no doubt going through. Oh, how he wanted to hear those screams again. No matter, there was work to be done.
"Dr. Reynolds," said the man monotonously, "Get out, now."
The doctor looked up, shocked by the sudden declaration. "You must be joking," the old man said, injecting another fluid into Green's arm, "Don't you see he needs medical attention thanks to that inconsiderate stunt you just pulled?"
The doctor avoided his advances as his partner moved to grab the syringe. "What the hell was that?" asked Ageku.
The old man looked over his shoulder with a sneer. "A stabilizer," stated Reynolds.
"I never told you to give him that," growled the hooded man.
The doctor turned away from the boy, squaring up against his partner. "Do you have any idea how critical his injuries are?" he exclaimed.
The other man scoffed, reaching out to grab the older by the collar to draw him close. "Since when have you ever needed to consider the state of the subject before starting procedures?"
"This subject is not the same as the others!" Reynolds looked down at the boy. Green was staring up at him through half open eyes, struggling to breathe behind that mask. Clenching his teeth at the sight, the old man turned away with a hesitant whisper. "It's inhumane to make the boy experience any more torture that you have planned."
Ageku narrowed his eyes at the comment. "You weren't concerned about humane treatment before I brought this one in."
"You're going too fast," argued the elder, "let me just make him healthier than this!"
Suddenly, the old man found himself being pulled around the table. Halfway across the room it barely registered that he was being forced towards the door by the other man.
"Wait! What are you doing?"protested Reynolds, "Don't do this, please!"
Ageku ignored Reynolds' resistance when he opened the door to throw the doctor out. "It's too late to play the good guy, Dr. Reynolds," declared the hooded man, "Now, since you said you refuse to help me with this part: STAY OUT!"
The old man was roughly tossed into the darkened space outside the lab. He scrambled to get back into white room, but the door was violently slammed in his face.
Inside the room, the hooded male leaned against the door as the doctor tried to force his way in. Sighing dramatically, he reached to his belt to grab one of his Pokeballs. "Ursaring, block this door and keep that old geezer from getting back in here!"
The large bear roared when it appeared out of its Pokeball. Across the room, Green's eyes snapped open to the familiar growl. The boy tried to turn his head to look at where the man and his Pokemon stood. Something in his chest twisted at the sound that made him feel frantic, but he'd never seen this Ursaring before…had he?
He cast the disconnect aside as the hooded man stalked out of his line of vision towards the counters again. Green strained to see what his captor was up to, but it was useless at this angle. His eyes shifted back to the door where he could see the bear Pokemon sitting against the metal surface, indifferent to the constant banging on the other side. The boy briefly questioned the relationship between his two captors.
Who was this dysfunctional pair, what was their purpose to bring him here, where exactly was 'here', and how the hell does he not remember anything before waking up here? There were too many things going on around him he didn't understand.
Sighing quietly, the boy tried to calm down. No use getting worked up over what is; he needed to think of a new escape plan. Flexing his fingers, he experimented with the mobility of his limbs. Green breathed. The shot that the doctor administered really helped him gain control of his body. Still painful as hell but nothing he couldn't work with. Maybe he could still find a way out of this place.
"Tell me, boy," the man finally spoke, distracting Green from his thoughts, "Do you enjoy being in control?"
He still couldn't see the other male from his restricted position, but he felt slightly uneasy after hearing the question. "What do you mean by that?"
"Let me rephrase: Do you enjoy being in control of the things that happen in your life?"
Green scrutinized the man's words as he took a few shallow breaths in thought. He decided not to answer.
"Not being in control is one of the worst feelings that you can ever have," the stranger continued. The man moved away from the counter, watching the boy writhe in discomfort from his body's condition again. "It makes you feel unsure and…so very helpless."
Green strained his eyes to glare at the man that was now looming above him again. "Are you mocking me?" he growled.
Shaking his head, the man placed an object on the work table next to the boy and walked back to the cabinets to rummage through the storage again. "I know you understand what I mean."
"Stop with your mindless talk," demanded Green, "Who the hell are you and what do you want from me?"
"Oh, yes...very true," the man said, sounding genuinely startled. "I never introduced myself now did I?"
Green waited for him to continue, but the man stayed out of view again. The room was silent for a time except for the clinks and clatter of whatever items being gathered. Even the aggravated banging on the door had ceased.
The young trainer took the opportunity to indiscreetly try to break out of his restraints. Listening for any clues of the man's movements, he pulled against the bonds, but the shooting pain in his arms quickly discouraged that plan.
"The other man that was in the room was Doctor Reynolds," the man declared blandly.
Green froze as the man came back to his side. Setting down a few things, the cloaked figure cleared his space and began to order the materials he would be using on the small workbench. "He's an annoying old man, but he's always been of the useful sort to me."
Green pretended to be lucid while he slowly tried to reach the belts around his wrists with his fingers. Hoping that the man was too preoccupied with whatever he was setting up, he somehow was able to hook his middle finger underneath the straps.
"He helped me this far. It's too bad he wasn't interested in helping me with this part."
Just as he was about to unlatch the clasp keeping his restraints tight, a hand shot out of the cloak and grasped his wrist. Green's eyes widened seeing that the man hadn't even turned around to catch him in the act.
"It's rude to ignore someone when they're answering a question you asked."
Green clicked his tongue in response, turning away from the man when his hand was forced straight again.
"Now, if you don't mind," sighed the man, "I'd like your full attention, please." Green winced a little when the man tightened the straps around his wrists far from comfort.
Clenching his teeth in annoyance, the brunette glared at the wall, "Get on with it then."
The man hummed. After a time, a small smile appeared on his face with his eyes downcast in an expression of internal amusement. "As for me: I'll tell you who I am, but there's a catch." He glanced at the boy's face to see his reaction. Just as he expected, the terms piqued the young gym leader's interest as the boy quirked a brow to the statement.
A red light painted the walls only for a moment. Green turned his head back to the man, aware that the man just called out a Pokemon he could not see from his position.
The boy smirked, "I can already tell you're going to say something idiotic if you have to pull out insurance."
"Ah, there's that bravado again." The man laughed. "Since you want to know who I am then I'll have you know that once I give you my name, you are then bound to me," declared the stranger.
Green scoffed at the statement, dismissing the idea immediately. "Then I refuse to know," he answered flatly.
The man bent down and disappeared out of view. Green flinched when something lightly ran across his exposed torso, irritating his sensitive wounds. He was able to get a glimpse of long vines when a low whistle suddenly blew out below him.
The man stood up straight up again. "I don't recall saying you had a choice in the matter, boy."
Green opened his mouth to retort, but the man beat him to it.
"Stun spore."
The brunette's eyes widened at the command. Looking down at the mask, he spotted the white power already coming towards his mouth. The sound must have been the man disconnecting the tube from the gas tanks. Green cursed himself for being so dense. He realized that the flow of oxygen had stopped in his mask far too late, unable to prevent himself from breathing in the foreign particles now coming through the tube.
His breath unconsciously hitched as he tried to seal his mouth, but the effects were too quick. Green felt his fingertips begin to tingle and, within a few seconds, lose all feeling. He willed his mind to not panic when his legs and arms began to fade as well. Looking up at the man again, his eyes became frozen on the sneer below the hood as his body fell completely numb.
The man ran his hand down the boy's arm. His fingers drummed the open palm of his prisoner, satisfied with the lack of reaction. Firmly grasping the lithe hand, he turned to look into those spectacular eyes.
"Hello Green," he said using his free hand to push off the hood, "my name is Ageku...Izaya Ageku."
Blue and green met again as the shadow was lifted. With his introduction, the face of his captor was revealed.
-X-
"Ahh…It's so good to be back in the sun!"
Blue looked down from the sky, absently watching the waves pass by from behind her Pokemon's wings. Below her, the water sparkled in the orange light of the setting sun. It was so beautiful that she barely caught herself losing her focus to the calm. The young trainer didn't even know where she was planning on going; she was just glad to be out of the rain and away from that miserable mountain.
Sitting up again, she looked out into the distance where she could finally see a stretch of land. Blue sighed in relief, and signaled her Articuno to descend.
Once they had reached the ground, she jumped off the Pokemon and stretched her legs that had gone stiff during her long journey. Blue looked up at Articuno, smirking triumphantly at the bird, "Heh, you know…you're not so bad the more I'm around you."
The large bird looked down at the girl, it's eyes narrowing as if it was offended by the statement. Arching its back, Articuno let out demanding cry and stretched out its blue wings in an impressive but intimidating display.
Covering her ears, the girl crouched into herself in fear of her Pokemon. "Okay okay! I'm sorry!" shouted Blue, "You've always been amazing and I appreciate your help!"
Articuno's voice died down, allowing Blue to release her ears as she shakily stood up straight. The Pokemon bowed it's head in approval. Breathing a sigh of relief, the young trainer made a mental note to watch her mouth when it comes to dealing with these legendary birds.
Returning her Pokemon back into its Pokeball, Blue took out her Pokedex to check her current location. "Hmm…By the looks of the map, it seems I'm somewhere on Route 16," she said to herself. The girl looked around for a moment to see if anyone was around her, but she found herself alone on the quiet road. "Is it even worth it to search in this area?"
Sighing again, the girl began her trek in a random direction. She contemplated taking flight again, but it's not like she wouldn't be any more lost in where to start searching than now. The plan they had come up with at Yellow's house had her searching for clues around the mountain side once she joined with Red, yet as it was, she rushed away from Mt. Silver without a once over after her disappointing run in with the Pokemon champion. Frustrated with her lack of strategy, she worried how she, or any of the other Dex holders, was going to find their missing friend.
'Green would know what to do,' she mused, 'Why did it have to be him that went missing?'
Blue felt a twinge of sadness after the thought. The story that Yellow told unconsciously replayed in her mind as she continued to move forward. She grimaced at the thought of the final blow at the end of the memory.
The cruel violence that hooded freak put Green through was unforgivable. She would show that guy a thing or two about hurting a person she cared about. Not that she particularly cared that it was Green that got kidnapped. He was just a close ally…or something like that. Well, at least she was more concerned than his so called best friend, Red!
"That jerk was so infuriating!" she growled under her breath. How could he be so nonchalant about such a grave situation? Green was in danger and for all they knew, he could be seriously hurt or even…
Her thoughts were cut off by a low buzzing coming from her Pokegear. Answering the call, she was greeted by Crystal on the other side of the line.
"Hey Blue!" Crys called out, "We just dropped off the Professor at his lab a couple of minutes ago and now we're on our way back to Viridian."
"Yeah, it took forever to convince him that he didn't need to come with us!" moaned Yellow in the background.
Blue laughed a little, listening to the other girls rant about their trip with the Professor. "Sorry for leaving you guys with him this morning," she responded, "Didn't know he would be that much trouble."
"It's no problem," said the younger girl, "So did you find Red?"
Blue tensed at the question. She did, but things didn't exactly go as planned. Turning towards the orange sun, she idly watched it fall behind the clouds to cast a dark shadow on the land. "…Yeah, I did."
"Yay! He's alive!" cheered Yellow.
"That's great!" exclaimed Crys, "Hey, is he there with you? Ask him why he didn't answer any of my calls!"
"Yeah, he's with me," said Blue, "…He's just talking to some people we came across to see if they've seen Green around here." The girl's eyes widened in disbelief at what she just said; she didn't know why she just lied. The words just came out of her mouth unconsciously.
"Oh, okay. Where are you guys anyway?"
"Route 16" Blue answered, beginning to walk again, "Where are you guys heading?"
"Wow, you're all the way over there?" She could hear Crys and Yellow talking to each other away from the phone, probably trying to figure out their route. "We're probably going to go north from Viridian and see what we find from there, I think," Crys relayed.
"Alright, sounds good," Blue's voice grew distant as she lost interest in the conversation. The girl slowed her stride while she listened to the other trainer ramble on about what was going on at their end. It was good to hear that they were energetic about the mission and eager to get to Green. She wanted to keep it that way.
"Hey guys, I have to go now..." The chatter on the other side of the line ceased abruptly. Blue realized her voice sounded more serious than she intended. "I'll call you if we find something on our side."
"Oh…umm, okay. Good lu...-" Crys' voice was cut off when she clicked off the device. She felt guilty for lying to the other girls, but it was probably best that they didn't know what happened with Red. Knowing Red didn't want to help search for Green would ruin everyone's morale just like hers.
Blue couldn't help but think about Green again and what he was doing at the moment. Why was everything going wrong already? She looked again to the West, watching the last few gleams of sun disappear behind the nearing gray mass of clouds. Deep down, she had a feeling things weren't going to get much better from here. Shaking her head, she huffed in annoyance at herself. Now wasn't the time to be pessimistic. If Red wasn't going to help, then it was up to her.
"Don't worry, Green," said Blue determinedly, "I'll bring you back."
-X-
Everything about Izaya made Green internally shiver. The defined angles of his facial features made his gaze more intimidating than the boy would have liked to admit. His skin was as pale and lifeless as the walls around them, but the shade was nothing to the silvery white locks framing his face. The color was unusual for the younger features of Izaya's face, yet everything was unusual about this man. The unruly hair went midway down his neck, but only a few strands obstructed the view of the familiar icy eyes...at least that annoying smirk was gone.
The most curious thing about Izaya was a lurid scar running across his throat. It looked like it should have been fatal. What a way to complete the picture of this bastard.
Surprisingly, the man looked like he was uncomfortable with the attention. Green would have been happy to look away, but his paralyzed body forced him to soak in the image before him.
"There's no need to stare," stated the man rather coldly. The boy's hand slipped out of his own as he reached up to run his fingers over the scar. Chuckling half-heartedly to himself, Izaya shook his head in realization, "Ah, right...I forgot you're a little incapacitated at the moment."
The man decided to move on, wanting to spend as little time as possible as the main subject. "In hindsight, that was really unnecessary to let you know who I was," said Izaya thoughtfully as he turned to the adjacent table, "but as I said before, we can call it collateral in exchange for your agreement to stay here."
He could imagine the angry protests of the boy had he not been paralyzed. Looking towards the door, Izaya smiled at his Victreebell who had wandered over to Ursaring's side, most likely to play while he worked. He only realized at that moment that Reynold's had stopped his insistent rapping on the door. Good thing - now he could concentrate on the complicated task ahead.
Set on the table in front of him lay two syringes, a 300mL filled with a clear liquid and a 50mL containing an alarmingly red substance. Beside the two syringes was the device that he had worked tirelessly on for the past years, and the key to bringing this boy on board with his plans.
He carefully shifted the device to the center of his work space. The contraption looked simple at first glance: two curved pieces of metal connected at a hinge to form a flexible loop. There was even foam cushion lining the edges as a comfort factor for it's use. Yes, to put it bluntly it looked nothing more than a very sturdy collar, but it was on the inside that made it special. It was on the inside where his genius would come to life.
The man unclipped a panel on the inner circumference of the device to reveal a compartment to the left of the hinge. To the far left of the compartment, there was a small breadboard. Wires spilled out neatly to the left and right, leading to a tiny power source and an equally tiny control board of a stepper motor, respectively. The motor pin was attached to the top of a plunger that fed into a wide mouthed hose that tapered off as it ran along the remaining length of the open panel. At its end, the bloated design of the hinge casing allowed the tube to lazily curve and hook around to a perpendicular orientation. In a glaring display, a needle head pointed out of the device from the hose, flanked by gearboxes to maintain its alignment.
Unhooking the tube on the plunger side, the man's eyes shifted to look down at Green. "To answer your second question," declared Izaya as he picked up the larger syringe, "I want you to help me in my endeavors that will take place in the near future."
The clear fluid was injected into the plastic casing until it barely reached the rim of the tube. He picked up the metal collar and oriented it vertically to replace the plunger without spilling a drop of the substance.
Opening another panel on the right side of the collar, Izaya uncovered a similar setup that mirrored the adjacent compartment but half the size. The needle at the end of the right-hand tube was stacked parallel to the needle from the other side. In the same manner as the first, the red fluid in the remaining syringe was carefully loaded into the device.
The man wiped away the sweat that had formed on his forehead during the tedious preparation. Looking over at the child on the table, he tilted his head in deep thought. "It's almost too surreal to believe I have finally gotten to this point," Izaya started, "and now the next thing I need is to get you onboard with my plans."
He looked back down at the device before him. "This world is a miserable place with selfish thoughts and lack of compassion," the man continued, "what little value remains is quickly tossed away in favor of a cheap cover-up."
Izaya closed the panels on the inner walls of the collar so only a single needle peeked out of a break in the hinge. "Well then, I suppose it's time for you to help me test the product of my research," he said as he carried the device to his captive, "You have nothing to fear though as I have already tested this successfully."
With every word Izaya spoke, Green wanted to scream in retaliation of this corrupted plot. His paralyzed body left him to watch in horror as the contraption that the man had alluded to was brought into his line of vision. Just one look and the young trainer understood what was in store from him. Things started to make sense: the lab, the conversation about successful experiments, the question about being in control.
He was going to be the test subject of some sick plan whether he liked it or not. The feeling of degradation was nothing compared to the dread of the needle peering out above him on the inner face of that...collar.
The brunette's head was roughly forced straight to stare up at that white light again. The silhouette of the man's head appeared above him against the bright backdrop.
"Just...relax."
The shallow compassion of Izaya's words was colder than the touch of the metal that made contact with his nape. Green's heart dropped when he felt the collar enclose around his neck.
Izaya briskly walked back to the counters, leaving Green to deal with the anxiety of what was to come. The boy was lost. He could only hope this was a nightmare, and maybe he would wake up in a room that wasn't as bleak as his future was beginning to look.
The silver-haired man leaned over the boy again, carefully adjusting the metal around his neck to his liking. Izaya's eyes flickered to his captive's, his head tilting gingerly to the side with a muted click. Green wished he could at least close his eyes when he heard the gentle whirring noise reverberate from the device. Instead, he lay completely still with the initial prick.
"It will all be over soon."
The tip of the needle pierced his skin, slowly extending to push through the vertebrae in the back of his neck. He could feel it move into his body, deliberately penetrating between the bones so he could feel the path it cut.
Suddenly, dangerous tremors ran down his body when the tip broke into the spinal cord. Staring helplessly up at the silver-haired man, he finally felt the inevitable panic take over once he sensed something steadily flowing into his neck. Izaya's eyes never blinked, a dangerous fascination flickering behind his ice blue eyes.
Green's vision abruptly flashed to a blinding white. He couldn't breathe. In a matter of seconds, his body began to convulse uncontrollably within his restraints, tormented by the feeling of a thousand tiny barbs mercilessly puncturing his spine.
Izaya grabbed a fist full of the boy's hair, forcefully slamming Green's head back onto the table. "No, no, no" lectured the man, playfully, "we can't have you throwing it off with your silly tantrum." With his free hand, he trailed up to the boy's neck where the contraption torturing his captive half clung on to its position. Locking the device into place, he let go of the boy and stepped back to admire his work. Izaya simply beamed with excitement from the sight in front of him.
Green's body shuddered from the pain as his eyes began to roll back into his head from the lack of oxygen. His body continued to convulse, banging his own head hard against the table with every wave. He was so close to passing out, so close to escaping this torture, but peace eluded him again. For a fleeting moment, the boy suddenly went numb again, and his body was able to relax back into the table.
...only for a moment.
He quickly inhaled when a powerful shock traveled up his body and into his brain. He closed his eyes to the searing pain tearing his mind apart. The shock sent a backlash wave down to every nerve in his body and the familiar affliction of his wounded body returned as the sensation of paralysis washed away. At that point Green couldn't take it. Another jolt shooting through his spine was all the incentive he needed to let go.
He screamed.
His cry bounced off the walls around them in a sickening melody of pure anguish. This pain…his body could no longer take this much abuse and would soon give in. Listening to his own screams, he recognized his loss to this man with this pathetic noise of surrender. He hated it.
Green's voice began to die away until all that was heard was the unusually loud sound of his labored breaths.
"Oh, what...finished already?" Izaya sighed dramatically, circling around the boy to stand above his head. "No matter..I guess there will be more to come I can look forward to."
Green closed his eyes in resignation. Was there even a way to get out of here anymore? …No. The idea of escape was so far away at this point. It was obvious to him now: there was no way out of this place, this hellhole.
Opening his eyes again, Green looked up at the man as his consciousness began to fade. "What's going to happen to me?"
Izaya bent down to put his lips to the boy's ear. "You will be the knight in my revolution," he whispered, "...and a knight is always obedient to his master."
Green barely heard the last few words, but he could feel the poison in the meaning. His focus on his surroundings began to blur, and soon, slipped into darkness.
...
Outside the door, the old man sat slumped against the metal frame with his eyes trained on the hands that lay between his legs. He had been sitting there since he stopped trying to force his way back into the lab. When he heard the screams his body wanted to carry him away from the sounds but he forced himself to stay in order to punish himself. It's because he knew even if he didn't do the misdeed himself, he had a helping hand in it all. This isn't what he wanted but it was the only way to make up for his errors in his past; one for another.
-X-Hope you enjoyed reading. Please leave a review -X-
This chapter's original length was pretty extensive, so I divided the appearances into two different chapters. The next chapter still has some work, but it has the potential to take less time than this chapter to be posted.
