Chapter 103: I don't know you anymore

A groan escaped me as I pushed myself off of the cold steel floor. My joints cracked as I got up and stretched out my body like I did every morning when I woke up. Slowly I stretched my neck out and a satisfying pop relieved some of the stiffness from sleeping on such a flat surface for so many days straight. I peered around the room thinking I would see something, but I was quickly reminded that this room was pitch black. Within moments I began to shiver from the cold air in the room, but I didn't have anything to help alleviate myself from the feeling. To make things even better, my head still ached from the injury I received from Aiden a long while back.

For another day I was going to continue rotting away in here. I remembered when I first arrived here I was able to use my electricity for a bit of light, but now I could hardly do anything with my natural affinity. It was no doubt the food, if you could call it that. I think it is once a day a human brings me food, but I've lost complete track of time in this room. It could be three times a day. once every other, or every hour, I've just lost complete track in here. Usually when the human came it was the only time I got to see anyone, since I was the only one confined in here for some reason. It was always too dark to make out the humans face, but he would always come up to my cage and pour a bucket of this slop into an opening in my cage, which would then pour down into this bowl that reeked of a rotten stench that made my nose curl up. After I was fed and he gave me water, the human would always leave without a word. Sometimes I would try to talk to him, but never once did he even bother replying to me, it was almost as if he didn't even see me.

The food I was served here was just disgusting, like nothing I'd ever seen. I was able to use a spark to make it out when I first got here, and it was like some brownish sludge that looked like fecal matter… but it wasn't. I tried to resist it for as long as I could, but after so long I gave in… The taste was bitter and dank, the texture was sloppy with some squishy chunks in it and some hard chunks. Just touching the stuff with my tongue made my entire jaw lock up in an attempt to stop me from continuing on. At first I could barely stomach the stuff, I actually vomited the first few times I ate it. Luckily the food guy noticed and sprayed me and the cage off with a hose… While I hated him for being so cruel, it still beat sitting with my puke all day. Although, getting sprayed off also made me more cold, I remember sitting in my cage shivering like I was left out in the winter without any warmth.

The human never even took a moment to tend to the wound on my head. To this day the wound Aiden inflicted on me still ached. While it did feel better, it still felt very sensitive. The bloody scrapes that were left from the rock also seemed to leave its mark, a deep cut on my head didn't seem to want to heal, and it felt itchy, warm, and like it was pussing out some nasty liquid at times… I had no doubt in my mind that an infection was starting, but I had no way of treating it.

This whole experience was mental and physical torture. The food hardly kept me full, I can tell I've lost a lot of weight, I could feel individual ribs popping from my skin. Worst of all, I haven't bathed since I was hosed down when I first got here… My fur felt so nasty and greasy, and my skin itched in some places due to gross stuff collecting on my fur and skin.

I think the thing that got to me the most was the isolation in this dark cage. I've spent a lot of time alone when Flare was gone with Alex, but it didn't compare to this. The only time I got to socialize was in my dreams, but a dream is only so satisfying. At times my eyes play tricks on me, I hear things that I didn't really hear.

After some time, my mind began to drift back towards happier days. I think the only time I got to be happy here was when I lost myself in thoughts of the past. In a way it kept me sane, but also made me all the more scared. While I did prefer to reflect on the days I had fun with everyone, I still could never forget the situation I left everyone in. For all I know they could be dead right now. Black could have been taken as well, Arceus knows what they're doing to him, and the torment the thought of Flare being in danger made me tear up every time, but it wasn't just him though, I worried for everyone. I wanted to leave this place so badly I need to help them. I need to get out of here.

"Guys…" I began quietly as my eyes began to grow heavy, "I just want to come home now… I don't want to be here," I quietly cried to myself, slowly turning into sobs. Every sob and snort that came from me echoed in the silence, just reminding me that I was suffering alone. As I continued to sob, I could feel anxiety building up inside of me, ready to burst at any moment.

"I can't take this anymore!" I screamed as I threw myself at the steel bars of my cage. "I want out! I want out! I want out!" I repeatedly screamed to myself as I rammed my side into the cage. When my shoulder felt as if it was going to break I continued. I didn't even stop when I lost all feeling in my shoulder. I lost count of how many times my insanity pushed me to assault the bars of the cage, but my spirit weakened and I fell to the ground. Without any resistance, I allowed myself to release all of my emotions. Tears flowed down from my eyes as I curled up in a tight ball, my own tears drenching my fur as my sobs were muffled against my body. I cried and cried with no end. Alex never came to give me a hug and make things better, Flare never came to tell me things were going to be okay, Gray never told me to stop acting so weak, that was until a paw nudged me.

"Huh?" I said in surprise as my head rose upward.

"Hey, what's wrong, it's not like you at all to be like this?" Flare smiled at me.

"F-Flare?" I stammered as I pushed myself off the ground.

"What is it Kana?" the fennekin asked.

"Why is this happening to me?" I pleaded for an answer. The fennekin's smile turned to a frown..

"I don't know," Flare answered with a quick shrug, "Sometimes the world isn't always beautiful like you always pictured it," Flare answered as he walked across our home and towards the exit. The fennekin stood in front of the door with his back turned towards me.

"Flare!" I called out as I tried to chase him, but I found that something was blocking me. "Flare wait, please don't leave me!" I cried out as I stuck my paw out towards him. The fennekin looked back towards me with a comforting smile, but he didn't respond to my begging.

"Flare, I don't want you to leave me again!" I yelled out even louder, but the fennekin looked as if he couldn't even hear me. The fox gave a small wave as the front door was opened from the other side. A blinding white light shot through and my eyes clenched shut.

"Flare, please!" I cried even louder, but when I opened my eyes again the fennekin was gone. Emerging from the white abyss was a human, but I couldn't make him out do to me being blinded.

"Stand towards the back of the cage," a human snapped at me. In almost an instant I found myself back in the dark room, but the bright light from outside still blinded me.

"Wait, what's going on, where am I, please let me go, I'll do whatever you ask, just don't leave me here!" I begged as I practically pressed my face against the bars.

"Dumb bitch," a run down voice growled as a marowak walked out from behind the human. All I saw was the blur of the marowak extending his bone club towards me, then I awoke on the ground with a numbing pain on my head. I whimpered on the ground as I felt warm blood dripping from my skull. The human paid me no attention as he fiddled with a padlock on my cell. A click sounded from the lock as the door slowly opened with a loud screeching scream..

"Do anything and you'll regret it fast kid," the marowak growled as he batted his club against his hand.

"I'm sorry," I whimpered pathetically as I stayed completely still, not wanting to anger the marowak again. My head ached as the pain only grew worse, it was almost worse than what Aiden did to me, especially since my head was still sore from the previous injury. The pain in my head felt as if my skull was split, it was like nothing I've ever felt before.

I watched the human with my blurry vision as he walked towards the entrance of the room and grabbed a long stick with a U shaped thing at the end. WIthout much emotion, the human came back to my cage. The human looked down towards me, I quickly averted my gaze, not wanting to anger him in any way. I just clenched my eyes shut and prayed to Arceus that it would be over soon, and that I wouldn't be hurt any further.

"Get up, now," the marowak spoke in a snappy tone. "Don't make me wait, I hate waiting on you pokemon lab rats," the marowak finished as he whacked his club against the ground, creating a booming echo.

I let out a yip as I forced myself up. Then without warning the human jabbed his stick towards my neck. I clenched my eyes shut, not wanting to see what was coming, but instead of pain, I felt something wrap around my neck. My eyes opened in surprise to see that the U on the stick inclosed on my neck and made a collar.

"Move," the human ordered me. Without a chance to respond, I was yanked out of my cage. I nearly fell to the ground as he forced me to move towards the door. Despite my anxiety and pain at the moment, I still couldn't help but feel a bit of joy from finally getting the chance to leave this dark room, but that small ember of joy was smothered out by the overwhelming fear of what was in store for me.

"Stand still," the human barked at me as he pulled something off his belt. Out of the corner of my eye I could see him holding something in the shape of a gun. My eyes widened as he pulled me closer to him and pressed it against my neck. Just as I was about to run, I heard a beep and the gun like thing lit up green.

"Her chip says she's the one," the human nodded as he attached what I realized was a scanner to his belt. "Alright pokemon, stop standing around and start walking," the human ordered.

The human guided me towards the door with the stick, I tried to look back to see the cubone, but the collar stick kept my head looking forward. As we made our way towards the door, my eyes began to burn from the bright light from outside as if I was looking directly into the sun. For the first time in what felt like forever, I left the room. Everything was white, my eyes couldn't see anything but the color white.

"Move it!" The human barked at me as he used the stick to force me forward, and I slowly realized that we were walking down a hallway. I did as he wanted without resisting and blindly wandered. The blurriness slowly began to fade and I realized I was in some kind of pokecenter or something. Although, this one appeared to be a lot more advanced, but why would they keep me in confinement like that, and the staff would never treat me like a vicious pokemon. The halls to this place were much wider than the average pokecenter, and lights on the ceiling seemed to reflect off the shiny white walls and illuminated everything, I'm sure Black would have hated this place. Along the walls I could see many door and windows to other rooms, but I never got a good look at what was inside.

I was honestly a bit astounded by how crowded this place was, pokemon and humans of all kinds were doing all sorts of things in these halls. Some humans and pokemon were transporting equipment, others were moving pokemon that were patients here, and the rest was a mystery to me, I couldn't quite tell what they were doing. Other than the clacking sound of foot steps, this place seemed dead silent. Most of the humans and pokemon roaming around seemed a bit lifeless, like they were all over worked and exhausted.

We moved along the pokecenter for quite a bit, this place was far bigger than any pokecenter I'd ever seen, and it was surely the biggest maze I've been in. Eventually we came to a stop in front of a door. The human knocked on the door, and then to my amazement it slid open on its own.

The human moved me in front of him and guided me into a room. At the end of the room was a office desk with a laptop and other things you would expect to be on an office desk, except this weird swinging stick sculpture thing that kept moving in a pattern…

Behind the desk was an office chair that had its back faced towards us. The chair spun around and revealed an aged kadabra.

"Might I ask why you have her chained up like some damn feral beast? I told you to bring her to me, not chain her up like a fiend," the psychics voice boomed in my head.

"My apologies si-"

"I don't care, just leave before you have to find a new job," The kadabra waved his hands towards them. "Hold up actually," the kadabra said to the human and marowak.

"Yes sir?"

"While you're here, I don't want to trouble my assistant, she's doing far more vital things. Get me some braised pork loin, and some more coffee, add two and a half packets of artificial sugar," the kadabra ordered the two. "Miss Kana, may I interest you in a meal, I'm sure you're very hungry... after that," the Kadabra spoke as he glared at the human and marowak with disgust.

"Umm…" I began nervously, "I'd hate to trouble you…"

"Nonsense, you're a guest here, just say whatever your heart desires and our chefs will do there best."

"Umm… I'll just take what you're having," I answered, not even sure what the heck a pork loin thing was...

"Coffee as well?" the kadabra asked.

"No... Al-... my human doesn't allow me to anymore…" I answered shyly.

"Suite yourself miss Kana. Just bring her some juice of some kind then," The kadabra said with a shrug as he waved off the lackeys working below him. "Please, take a seat," the kadabra offered as he gestured me towards a cushioned stool that appeared like it was for quadruped pokemon like myself to sit on. For a moment I was hesitant towards trusting him, this was too big of a change from my previous living conditions. I stared at the kadabra with very little trust, there was no way I was being treated like this for no reason.

"Miss Kana, is something troubling you?"

"H-How do you even know my name?" I nervously asked.

The kadabra smirked towards me. "Oh how rude, now that I think of it, I never even gave you my name, where are my manners? My my, seems those two from earlier are corrupting my behavior," the kadabra lightly laughed to himself, while I remained serious. "The name you will have to know me by is simply Zero. While it may not be the most conventional name, it is what I must go by while here. As for me knowing your name miss Kana, I just simply scanned your mind for that small piece info," the kadabra gave me a lengthy answer. "You see though miss Kana, their is no lying to me. You can train your whole life to lie, be able to act just how you need to convince me, but your mind will never lie to me. Now, would you kindly take a seat miss Kana?"

"N-No," I began as I fidgeted in place. "I-I'm sorry, I appreciate your kindness, but what the heck is all of this. I mean I'm kept in a cage in poor living conditions for Arceus knows how long and now I'm suddenly treated like this?" I frantically spoke as I felt myself becoming ready to explode with anger.

"Miss Kana, please have a seat, I'm afraid there was a mistake and you ended up in the wrong place… Sadly for just a little over a month."

"It's only been a month…" I said with surprise, but then again I wasn't even sure how long I expected. I remained still for a seconds, but I allowed myself to have enough trust to take a seat. I walked towards the chair and struggled to pull myself up. To my surprise I was weaker than I thought after a month in that cell.

"So one month?" I asked with disbelief.

"I'm afraid so," The kadabra answered. "May I ask though, what happened to your head, that wound doesn't look so pleasant."

"Why don't you just read my mind," I muttered with annoyance.

"No need to be snide, while I told you there is no lying to me, I do believe that a mind is someone's sanctuary, something I have no right to intrude on. So long as you respect me and tell the truth, I will not tread where I do not belong."

I let out a long sigh, I was about to argue with him reading my mind for a name, but it wasn't worth it, I needed answers."Why exactly was I being contained for that long? I nearly went insane inside of that room."

"I'm afraid there was a mix up. I don't know how it happened, but you ended up where you were. Luckily the person feeding you eventually put two and two together and realized you weren't supposed to be in there. It took the imbecile long enough."

"That's a bit of a mistake…" I said with frustration. "What kind of pokecenter keeps pokemon in containment like that and then beats me like a crazed pokemon!?"

"Huh?" The kadabra said with surprise. "Who told you this place was a pokecenter?"

"Well no one…" I answered, "I mean it kind of reminds me of one."

"Well this could be a place for treatment if needed, but that's not the primary focus here."

"Then where am I? Where are my friends? All I remember is running down the street in search of my friend and then everything went black."

"I can't answer for your friends, but as for you miss Kana, you're in a facility known as Techvivre labs, and here running this facility is Team Genesis. I'm sure you're familiar, after all you did have a run in a while back, did you not?"

"Wait… if this place is owned by Genesis… Why am I here!?" I yelled in panic at the kadabra as I sat up from my chair and tried leaping away, but a strange purple light surrounded me and all my problems melted away in a moment. The throbbing pain on my head even ceased, my body felt so relaxed and sleepy.

"What are you…" I began as I tried to fight the feeling, but no matter how hard I tried to fight against it, I just felt so tired and relaxed.

"Please, I don't wish to pacify you like this, but if you can't behave I'll have to resort to other methods." Suddenly I felt the drowsiness lift up from me.

"What did you just do to me?" I said in shock as I looked all around my body for damage, but he didn't do a thing to me that I could see.

"I just calmed you down with my mind, no harm done, I just need you to understand that we can't behave like that," The kadabra answered. "Now, I'm willing to explain your current situation, but I need you to promise to be calm. And if you do, I have someone here who'd like to see you, but only if you cooperate."

"Okay, I'm sorry," I apologized. In no way did I plan on sticking around after this since he was Genesis, but I'd at least hear him out. Still, the thought of being here terrified me.

"No need to apologize miss Kana, you're scared, that's a natural reaction for someone in your current situation, but enough of that, I believe I owe you an explanation. It was around one month ago that you were taken by a fellow member of Genesis, needless to say he brought you here. Now originally you were suppose to be brought here to me, but instead you got mixed up and put in with our specimens, and no, I don't know how that happened… But thank goodness someone caught on, you could have ended up on a lab table if something didn't happen," The kadabra spoke nonchalantly.

The thought of being dissected on a table made me want to barf, but I contained myself.

"So, we have plans for you Kana. Sadly for you, you're not to know these plans, but know that no harm will come to you. All I need is your trust, if so you're welcome to stay here, so long as you don't disobey some rules."

"I'm not staying here with you, and I will have no part in any plans of yours. Especially after you sent mercenaries to kill us," I rose my voice towards the kadabra.

"Correction, the mercenaries were not sent to harm you, they were only to take the lives of the others that were involved, sparing both you and your trainer."

"Wait, just why the heck would they not kill me and Alex? We're both just as involved as everyone else. I mean hell, you're weighing my life more than a child?" My tone became sharp as I felt a fire rising in my chest.

"My my, I guess it'd be easier to explain why you and your human were spared."

"Excuse me, I'm not following," I said as my left brow rose in confusion.

Zero leaned forward and pressed down on a button below a microphone. "Mr. Hayter, you may enter," The kadabra spoke into the mic, before he released his finger and allowed himself to rest against his chair again.

"Wait… did you just-" I began as my eyes widened and the door to the room slid open. "What's going on, I don't understand?!" I cried out as John Hayter entered the room with a lab coat on.

"Hey there Kana," Mr Hayter said as he crouched down and extended his hand out for me to come towards him so he could pet me like when he returned home from work.

My body began to shake in fear, if this was what I thought it was, then everything I have been told by this man was a lie. I stepped away from the human and his hand dropped towards the ground in disappointment.

"This isn't true… it can't be," I frantically whispered to myself as my heart pounded in my chest, and everything felt like it was moving so fast.

"Kana, I'm broadcasting your voice to Mr Hayter so he can hear you," Zero said.

"No no no, this is a lie, this is a trick… He's just messing with your head, he's Genesis, Mr Hayter would never work for Genesis," I frantically told myself.

"Kana, calm down, it's going to be alright," Mr Hayter spoke to me. My head snapped upward in surprise as the human somehow got close without me realizing it. His hand reached downward towards me. "What happened to your he-"

"Get back!" I emitted a small discharge of electricity into the human, zapping his finger tip with the only form of electricity I had the strength to use.

"Oww, dammit Kana," John pulled his hand back, but he didn't retreat. "Why are you so scared of me, do you really fear me that much now, nothing about me has changed, you just know more about me."

"I don't know you anymore!" I screamed at him, tears breaking from my eyes. "Do you not realize what Genesis does to pokemon?!"

"Well yeah… I've kinda been working for them before you were even born, I think I know what my employers do," Hayter answered. "Kana, just please calm down, I swear this'll make sense if you just listen." Mr. Hayter's arms extended out and grabbed me with hands that I once viewed as gentle. I opened my mouth and bit down on his shoulder. Mr Hayter let out a yell of pain and released me.

"You don't ever touch me again!" I yelled at him with tears streaming down from my eyes and onto the floor. "How can you just lie to everyone like this!" I screamed as I quickly ran around him and towards the door. Suddenly I felt my body lift into the air and remain still. I tried to budge free, but I quickly realized I was helpless.

"I'll calm her down," Zero spoke.

"No," John cut him off.

"Hmm?"

"she has every right to be angry with me," John spoke and I was set back down on the ground, but I couldn't budge a single muscle, it was like I was frozen in place. "Kana, I want you to hear my story, then maybe you'll understand how someone like me ends up here." The invisible force holding my body released me and I was able to turn back to John. The human looked at me with a melancholic stare, one that I've rarely seen on him.

"Why would you join Genesis?"

"It's a long story, I guess I'll start from the beginning. I guess it all started shortly after I married Samantha. She and I made a decent living with our combined incomes, but we were far from wealthy with all our bills and student loans. Well, it wasn't until a few years after our marriage that Samantha became very, very ill. After a bit we both had enough and I took her in to see a doctor. Well, it was on that day she was diagnosed with cancer. Samantha took it hard and her illness made it impossible for her to work, so we both decided it was best for her to stay home. Family and friends kept close watch over her while I worked as much as I could, that was until something happened…"

"I worked for a lab, we were conducting research on illnesses that kills pokemon. Well, our lab ran out of funding, and due to a lack of results, we were all let go since the board didn't want to fund us… So, this is where my life turns around. Samantha was dying and I couldn't get her good treatment without money, or even keep our home if I didn't do something. So, one night at a bar I was drinking away my problems, it was there I ran into an old friend from college. We spent a good hour catching up, I guess my bad luck moved him because he offered me a job.,and yes, this job was working for Genesis."

"So, doing what I could, I accepted the job. At first I was very cynical, but I realized it was just like any other job, I just couldn't let anyone know or I'd be in prison for a very long time. I still remember my first check, my heart nearly stopped beating from the shock. In just one week I earned what used to take me three, and that was just the beginning. With the extra money I was able to get Samantha the best treatment possible, plus Genesis had some medicine that would help her, but their was only so much they could do. After around a year, Samantha's cancer went away, together we beat it," John said with a small smile, but in a way it looked a bit pitiful.

"This doesn't make sense though. Samantha passed away from cancer, is their something else going on here?" I shyly asked.

"No no, you're completely right on that, Samantha did pass away from cancer. You see, after that we carried on a normal life, the only difference being that I had to lie about my job. I think it was three years after she got better that we adopted you," A smile crept onto John's face. "I still remember that day, you were so cute, our first addition to our family. You may not remember Samantha that well, but she really did cherish you, I really think the two of you would have gotten along well," John said as he continued to smile from the nostalgia. "two years later, Samantha gave birth to Alex. I remember how happy we were, everything in life was just going to well and we had another family member. Although, things took a turn for the worst later down the road. Samantha's cancer came back, but this time she didn't recover," John stopped for a moment as he stared towards the ground. "You probably ask why I continued to work for Genesis even when I didn't need the money, I do it because I want the money if anything ever happens to Alex. Because of this money I'll be able to pay for his college, his wedding, help him out if he ever needs it, this money I have can change our lives. So tell me Kana, do you understand why I do what I do now?"

"I do," I nodded my head as I looked the human in the eyes, "I understand you now, I thought you were just greedy, but you did it for good reasons."

"I'm glad you've come to-"

"But I still can't accept that you hurt innocent pokemon. I know you loved Samantha, and I know you'd do anything to protect Alex, but Genesis kills pokemon and funds killers, how many lives was it worth to save Samantha, wasn't watching her suffer enough for you to understand that no one should die?"

"Kana, you don't understand what Genesis does here, and with your immaturity I doubt you'll ever come to comprehend it either."

"Then what are you doing here!? Black had to walk through a facility where countless innocent pokemon were shot and burned to ash! Then then these killers hired by Genesis come to kill us! Maybe I don't know what Genesis is doing to pokemon, but I don't need to know that, because I realize that Genesis is a horrible organization!" I screamed at the human, but John remained unfazed.

"Here at Genesis we do hurt pokemon, I won't lie. We've killed more than we can count. But Genesis has also produced many miracles that will save more pokemon in the future. Our studies may even benefit humans as well."

"It still doesn't make what you're doing here right!"

"I know what I'm doing may not be the best line of work, but I have no other damn choice. okay?" John rose his voice.

"Then what about me? Are you going to do things to me then?!" I lashed back. John flinched back in surprise.

"Kana… I'd never hurt you, nor is anyone here going to harm you."

"I don't even know if I trust your word on that."

"Listen Kana, why don't I take you back to my room where we can both cool off. Obviously a lot has been put on you today, so maybe it's best if you just take some time to think things through. No one here is going to harm you, I swear."

"I don't want to stay here though… I just want to go home."

"Listen, I promise if you be good and do as you're told, I'll get you home as soon as my contract here is up, shouldn't be more than two months. After I'll be stopping home to check on Alex."

"Then promise me, promise me you'll take me home after all of this."

"I promise Kana, I'll take you home after my work here is done."

"Okay," I quietly said as I gave a small nod.

"Well Zero, I appreciate the help. I'll get back to you later on other things."

"That's fine Mr Hayter, just keep an eye on Miss Kana."

"I will," John said as we walked towards the door. "Come on Kana, I'll take you to our room," John said as he gestured me to follow.

I followed him without a word and we left the room and went back into the white halls. I followed closely to John as we turned multiple corners and made our way through the facility. As we walked I tried to map out the facility, but I quickly gave up on that as I realized this place was much bigger than I anticipated. About halfway down one of the halls, John stopped in front of an elevator. The human pressed a button and the door opened up.

"We're almost there, don't worry," John smiled at me. I didn't reply, but I did enter the elevator with him.

The two of us waited in the elevator for about two floors down. Both doors slowly slid open and revealed a big empty hallway that was illuminated like the rest of the facility. The halls down here were much more narrow, but it still looked like all the other halls. Without a word John exited the elevator and headed down the hall. Along the hall there were many different doors that were parallel to each other, almost like a hotel. I followed behind John until we reached the very end of the hall. John turned to the door on the left and pressed his palm against some kind of scanner. A beep sounded and the door clicked.

"Well, here we are, home," John said as he opened the door and allowed me to enter. My jaw dropped in surprise from what I was seeing. The room we were in appeared like a normal home, just smaller, maybe more like a suite in a hotel.

"It's not much, but this'll be where you sleep. Feel free to do as you please here, just don't wreck the place," John said as he walked through the room and entered the living room. There wasn't much to it, just a recliner and a TV, along with some fake plants along the wall. Across from the living room was the kitchen, the only real separation was the carpet that transitioned to white tiles, no walls. The kitchen had all the essentials one would need, stove, fridge, oven, counter, and all the cooking utensil stuff.

"Kana, come with me," John waved for me to follow. John led me to a door just past the kitchen and living room. He opened the door, revealing the bathroom. "Come here," John said as he bent down and lifted me up from under my arms.

"Hey, I said not to-" I began to argue, but he set me down on the counter in the restroom. "What're you doing?" I asked as my head cocked to the side.

"Don't worry, I'm just tending to that nasty gash on your head, it looks pretty bad," John chuckled as he reached into a cabinet behind me. "Watch your head sweetie," he said as he opened the door, and it swung over my head. John dug around back there until he pulled out a few items.

"Alright, this is going to sting a bit, just bear with me," John warned me as he grabbed a swab a poured some disinfectant on it. "Hold still, I don't want to hurt you," he said as his hand gently held the back of my head and his other hand lowered the swab near my forehead. My eyes closed just before it touched, and then I felt an intense burning in my wound.

"Ow ow ow," I whined as my head lowered as a reflex.

"Hold on, we're almost done here," John said. "And done," the human finished, and threw the swab into the garbage.

"Thanks," I lightly said as I jumped off the counter.

"Here, I'll show you to my room, which will now be ours I guess, unless you prefer to sleep somewhere else," John said as he led me towards the back of the room towards a door. John opened the door and revealed a small bedroom. Inside it seemed like a normal human room. John had a big bed, and next to his bed was a nightstand with a clock, and a picture. I looked closer to the picture and my heart nearly skipped a beat. It was a picture of John, Samantha, Alex, and me very long ago.

"I'll be sure to find you a bed, I know Genesis has some here somewhere, but that'll have to wait till later. Till then you can sleep on my bed, or wherever makes you comfortable." Usually I would have something to say to John, but at the moment I didn't have much to say to him. I just gave him a nod and the human walked out of the bedroom.

"Well, I have a lot I'd like to show you here, but I'm afraid I have a job here. Zero told me earlier that he'd have a guide show you around the facility, just don't give them a hard time, I don't want to hear any trouble about you. You got that? Don't expect me back anytime soon, feel free to eat before I return."

"Okay."

"Your guide will be here shortly, I'll be back when I can." John gave me a small wave and he left me in the room alone.

For a minute I just stared at the door he left through. None of this felt real in any way, but I knew too well that it wasn't some dream. I released a sigh as I looked around the room, until I spotted what I was looking for, the bathroom. I got access to the room and entered. In the bathroom I found exactly what I was looking for, the shower.

I didn't waste a single second on getting in the walk in shower, and closing the glass sliding door behind me. I stood up on my back two legs as I used the wall for support. Using my maw I twisted the hot water knob and warm water rained down onto me.

"Arceus," I said in ecstasy as I cleaned myself in the first time in a month. I let out a long moan of joy as I felt my fur being cleansed of all the icky things stuck in it. No words could really describe how amazing it felt to shower after one long month.

Despite me being overjoyed from the shower, my mind was quick to drift off towards other memories. To this moment I still couldn't believe where I was. I also couldn't help but wonder how everyone else was doing. If everyone was well then they were probably back on their journey, or maybe they were looking for me at this very moment. I really missed being with them, the first chance I get I plan to escape this place and find everyone. But what was I going to tell everyone? Would anyone really believe that I was here with John… there is no way anyone would accept that, ever.

"Hello?" a male voice called from outside the bathroom.

I let out a sigh as I faced towards the door, but I found that I couldn't see through the window due to all the condensation that formed. "Couldn't I just have a little longer?" I whispered to myself as I tried to enjoy the shower for a moment longer.

"Come on, I don't have all day, get your ass out here," the voice snapped as I heard the door slam open.

"Hey, can you kno-" I began, before something shiny touched the glass window. I jumped back in surprise as I realized it was some kind of steel claw. The claw began to slowly drag downward, creating a high pitched squealing.

"Don't make me count to three, I want to get this over with," the voice spoke up.

"Can I just have a minute, seriousl-" Before I could even finish, the glass door slid open. "Get out of here you weirdo!" I screamed at the top of my lung, but then I froze in place… "Y-You…? You're…" I began, but I couldn't even finish my sentence.

"Oh hey there, remember me? Heh, funny, I saw your name on a list of jobs to do today and I just couldn't pass up the chance to say hello," the voice hysterically chuckled as he held up a steel prosthetic arm. "If you're curious, I'm beyond pissed about the arm, so get your ass out of the shower before I drag you out!" The riolu shouted at me.

"Someone help!" I screamed as I quickly ran past the riolu and towards the exit.

"Will you sit your ass down, I can't even kill you here, you dumb bitch!" The riolu yelled as he chased after me.

"Someon-" I began, before I felt something jump on my back and took me to the ground.

"Alright missy, calm the fuck down, you're starting to piss me off more than usual!"

"I'm sorry," I whimpered as I closed my eyes in fear.

"Have some damn dignity, I'm a cripple and you're running from me? I'm not even armed," he spat out. "Listen, as much as I'd love to beat you to death here and now, I can't. Genesis would easily trace it back to me, then I'd be used as a specimen, and I don't fancy getting cut up into pieces."

"Then why are you here?!" I cried as I tried to pull myself free.

"Well… ever since your dickwad absol friend chopped my arm off, I've been struggling to survive… Poor ol' me, I used to be a respectable mercenary, now I'm a fucking bitch here... Yes, yes, even someone as badass as me can't pull off all the mercenary shit without my dominant arm. So, I do side jobs for Genesis inside their facility so I save up. Cheap ass bastards charge a fortune to make me a new arm, even if I'm practically their slave."

"That's not what I mean, why are you here now…" I fearfully asked as the riolu remained on top of me.

"Oh, I just wanted to say hi. I decided to take the job on showing you around this facility, should be an easy job for a cripple like me. Plus, you're going to tell me where that absol is, or I'm going to do things to you when I get the chance. Just you wait, I'll figure out your worst fears and I'll make them reality." The riolu got off of me and allowed me to stand once more. "Now get your ass into first gear, this is a big place and I want to get this stupid job over with so I can go find some other way to make money."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," I said as I jumped to my feet and moved back from him.

"Listen bitch, the job said to show you around certain parts of the facility, it did not say how I had to do it. So, either get your ass under control or I'll drag you by your feet. So you pick."

Point of View Vincent

"Huh, Courmarine is quite the city," I spoke with amazement as I looked over a cliff and towards the city that bordered the vast ocean. All of Crimson stood along a cliff as we watched the city below. While there was no cover from the sun up here, the view was quite breath taking. From here we could see all the ships docking and sailing out towards the horizon.

"Yeah… one hell of a climb without the damn train…" Merrick complained as he fell flat on the grassy ground. "Aghhh, every muscle in my legs burns, why did we have to come up here?" I shrugged towards the upset quilava. The quilava just let out a huff and I just turned towards the city below.

"Because, it is far less crowded up here. We're less likely to be spotted," Scarlet answered as she sat cross legged and meditated with her eyes closed.

"Vincent," Mandus called from behind me. I turned back towards the lucario. "We have work to do," the lucario walked towards the edge of the cliff as he put up the hood of his cloak. "Come," Mandus instructed as he walked along the edge of the cliff towards the nearest way down.

"Wait, are you two are going down?" Merrick asked. Mandus turned half way around and gave a small nod.

"Vincent… can you like, bring some snacks back if we're going to be here awhile?" Merrick asked.

"Let's go," Mandus interrupted. Without a word I followed behind Mandus. We followed a small path that would lead us down to the bottom of the cliff. By the time we made it down, the sun was just beginning to set over the horizon, and we began making our way through the city.

Most humans stared at us as we walked down the streets, but we kept our distant attitude and they left us alone. For some reason, none of them really attempted to capture us, perhaps it was because they thought we were already taken, or maybe Mandus just looked civil with his cloak, either way I'm not complaining.

Mandus and I both travelled through Courmarine city until it was dusk. Our venture came to a stop in front of a club… Just from being outside of the club I could feel the ground vibrating from the overly obnoxious music being played from within. The building appeared like any other building, except for the neon sign that had two eevee looking tails crossing… I could get an idea on what kind of club this was…

Standing in front of the club was a very long line of pokemon, it was actually stretching around the building. Most pokemon were dressed up for some strange reason, which was a bizarre scene for me.

"Brace yourself," Mandus stated as he stared at the entrance with his fists tightening.

"Should I be expecting something to happen?"

"What awaits us inside this place is some of the worst things humanity has to offer… let's just get this over with," Mandus scowled, and without another word Mandus walked to the front of the line where a Gurdurr in a tuxedo stood with a clipboard in his hands. "Hey, get in line and wait like everyone else," the ripped pokemon snapped at Mandus.

"I'm here to see Shade.".

"Shade? What the hell would he want to see you for? What's your name grandpa?" the Gurdurr asked as he held the clipboard up with one and held a pen in the other.

"Mandus."

The Gurdurr stared at the list for a moment before looking back at the lucario. "Tff, you're not on the list, now get in line like all these other poke-" Suddenly the Gurdurr flew upwards from an uppercut from Mandus. The fighting type flew backwards leaving the pen and clipboard suspended in the air. Mandus quickly caught both the clipboard and the pen in hand and began to write something down.

"I am now," Mandus said as he threw the board down on the unconscious Gurdurr. In a loud roar, all of the pokemon in line cheered for Mandus, some even jumping up in pure excitement.

"Mandus… I don't think that was a good-"

"It's fine," the lucario cut me off as he pushed the door open. "Let's just get in quickly and be done with this."

I sighed as Mandus waited for me to enter. "Alright." I walked inside a dark hall in the pokemon club, Mandus and I both walking side by side as all the other pokemon rushed in behind us. As I walked I began to feel tremors in the ground along with a loud thumping sound. At the end of the dark hall I could see flashing lights, all of which were different colors. Mandus and I both walked out of the hall and we were immediately blinded by a light, and blasted by the overwhelming power of modern day music...

I opened my mouth to complain, but when I spoke my voice was drowned out by the electronic music. Mandus just ignored everything and began to transverse the dance floor before us. I glanced around in amazement, I've always heard of these places but I've never actually seen one. The color scheme was a purplish pink, the floor even lit up with these neon colors, while lights on the ceiling flashed down and made me feel all jittery. This was surely epileptic hell.

In the front of the crowd of dancing pokemon was on a stage some flygon operating some board. My head cocked to the side as I noticed him somewhat moving on beat with the music. My head turned back towards Mandus and noticed I how much further ahead he was from me. I picked up my pace and followed Mandus until we reached the back of the club, where we were greeted by another guard, this one was a pangoro in yet another tuxedo.

"I'm looking for Shade," Mandus asked the bear.

"He ain't in," the pangoro spat out as he leaned against the door.

"Don't try and fool me, I can sense his aura from here like I can see through your lie."

"Oh looky here, we got a tough guy," the pangoro snorted as he stood up from the door and cracked his knuckles. "I'll give ya one chance ta hightail it outta here."

"I don't have time for this," Mandus muttered to himself. "Move."

"Pff, is that the best you go-" Mandus slammed his palm into the pangoro's chest, a small bust of aura exploding. The bear slammed against the wall, leaving an indent of his body.

"Stay down." Mandus said as he opened the door. To my surprise, no one seemed to notice that Mandus just assaulted someone, they were all so caught up in their dancing and whatnot. I turned towards the door to see another set of stairs waiting for us.

"You sure you should be doing that to the guards… I thought we were keeping a low profile," I questioned Mandus as we made our way up.

"It's fine, Shade will clear it up for us."

Once at the top we reached another door, but this one was unguarded. Mandus opened the door and we entered. As the door closed behind us, I was shocked by the sudden change in atmosphere. The music that blasted through the air was replaced with smooth jazz, and the neon purple was now a dark red mixed with black. The sound of bass could still be heard from outside, but it was mostly blocked out by the walls.

"Well, well, I was wondering if you were dead," a voice said from across the room. Mandus crossed his arms as he looked across the room towards a zoroark who was resting on a black leather couch with his feet on a table and a cigarette in his mouth. "Who's the albino kid?"

"Vincent," I answered.

"Is this guy safe, Mandus?"

"I trust him more than most," Mandus answered.

"So, you must be Shade then?" I asked with a bit of surprise.

"Yeah," the zoroark nodded as he leaned further back and blew a puff of smoke into the air. "Alright Mandus, why'd you come here?" the zoroark yawned out.

"I need you to use your connections to get ahold of someone," Mandus replied.

"You don't mean-"

"Yes," Mandus quickly answered.

A sneer formed on the zoroark's maw as he leaned forward. "I can only wonder why you want from her, this outta be interesting," the zoroark laughed as he got up and smothered his cigarette in a ash tray. "Alright, I guess I do owe you, but you're going to be here for a very long time, she isn't exactly easy to get to nowadays. So sit tight, feel free to get some drinks, food, Hell, get some women up here if it'll please your espeon friend," the zoroark laughed. "No seriously though, I don't want to come back to some kind of kinky shit, so keep it PG-13 up here."

"Just go," Mandus responded with annoyance.

"Hey, hey," the zoroark said as he walked by Mandus and placed and hand on his shoulder and leaned in close, "You know things are complicated for me, always have been. Excuse my behavior, I just gotta stay in character, never know who's watching, right?" The zoroark whispered into Mandus's ear. Mandus didn't react to what he said, and the zoroark shrugged. "Well, I'll be back before morning if I'm lucky. You two behave now." After those words, the zoroark parted from our company and left us to ourselves.

"Who is he? I wasn't aware that you knew someone like that," I inquired from the lucario.

"He's someone I met many years back, he was younger when we first met, but he and this other pokemon we're about to see were intertwined with me at one point. Just some old ties I have," Mandus answered.

Point of View Kana

"Alright let's see, I showed you the cafeteria, I showed you all the places you can't go, I showed you all this crap, I think I've showed you everything. Thank Arceus, you're so fucking annoying, you know that right?"

"Thanks…" I meekly answered. as I stared down at my reflection in the white floor.

"That's all I get?! Just a weak 'thanks'" Sam mocked my voice as he became furious. "Listen here betch, I don't like you, so you better straighten the hell up or you better sleep with one eye open, you got that!"

"I'm sorry!" I screamed as I jumped back from the furious riolu.

"I can't hear you! Sorry for what?!"

"I'm sorry for upsetting you, I honestly don't know what I did!" I yelled as I tried to turn to flee, but I froze in place as the riolu came at me.

"You just pissed me o-" In mid dash, something smacked the riolu straight in the face and he fell down. I watched in amazement as the brownish blur flew back behind me.

"Really Sam, do you have to scare every newbie here?" a female voice spoke from behind me.

"Gah, not you again," Sam growled as I turned back to see who was there.

Sitting on a stack of crates was a braixen, in her fingers was a stick that she was fiddling with. "Jolteon, are you going to be alright, I know Sam can be bully, but he's really just insecure," the braixen asked.

"Wait, what the fuck makes you think that?" Sam piped up as he got up and reached for something on his back, but then the riolu realized that what he was looking for wasn't on his person. "You wanna go bitch, I'll gladly shove that stick up your ass!"

"Why is it that everything that comes from your mouth is foul and just wrong…?" the braixen asked, before she jumped off the stack of crates.

"Oh, so you do want some of Sam?"

"Sorry Sam, I have a code against fighting those who are weaker than me, maybe come back when you've trained a little more, then maybe I won't have to worry about accidentally killing you," the braixen teased as she laughed to herself.

"You're asking for it you bitch!" Sam ran towards the bipedal fox as he cocked his arm back and let out a powerful yell.

"Wow, I've never seen this one before," the braixen shook her head as she twirled the stick in her finger and stuck it towards the riolu's face. Sam stopped in place right when the braixen pressed the stick against his forehead. "Just take it easy, okay?" the braixen smiled as the riolu fell over.

"Did you just… kill him?" I stuttered, before the riolu let out a loud snore.

"You know, sometimes I wish I could," the braixen laughed, "I kid, as annoying as he is, I wouldn't kill him over that."

"Well… glad to see some pokemon here are sane," I nervously joked.

"Heh, I wouldn't say that," the braixen smiled, "Anyhoo, bye!"

"Wait-wait!" I yelled after the braixen.

"What's up?" the braixen turned back towards me.

"I didn't even get to thank you for helping me… I'm not really much of a fighter, and honestly, he terrifies me."

"Believe me, he's like a yappy poochyena. They just sit there and yap and yap all day, but that's all he is, just a yappy mutt. Stand your ground against him and he'll back off."

"I'm not sure if it's that simple, but thanks for the advice."

"You're welcome. Anyhoo, I got to get going, if he's giving you trouble just tell me, I got your back random jolteon."

"Thanks, umm my name is Kana by the way."

"I know," the braixen chuckled.

"How...?"

"It's a psychic thing, don't worry though, I just found your name, I'm not going to look through your private stuff or anything."

"Ummm… thank you," I meeped out, realising that she could ruin me in a second.

"My name is Annie by the way, since we're introducing each other and all. Maybe I'll see you around, but as I said, I got places to be," the braixen said as she gave me a small wave with her hand.

"Yeah, see ya, and thanks again," I said as Annie turned away to go wherever she was going.

Chapter End

Author Note: Well, I'd say that was a eventful chapter. Lots of returning faces. Anyhoo, thanks to genericgamer207 for editing this chapter. And yes, I am sorry Sam has foul language, I don't know why, but when writing his character he seems to be that type of person...