Part two. Taking Ivan's advice and making the preface shorter. Talking in short, incomplete sentences, devoid of subject. And in some cases verb. :P
Ivan, if you see any other grammatical errors, point them out. I'd rather my story look as professional as possible. Yes, I know the title is terrible, and I will eventually change it. I would say I was doing pretty good for a 16-year old kid who hardly ever writes. Also, Ivan, realize that I do not abide my characters to my own grammar. For those wondering who Ivan is, check the reviews. Horizontal rulers are now used to separate sections, as well as the preface and end-notes.
Notes (Shortened from Character Specific or general Notes)
Italics mean thoughts of various characters, generally the main one. Could also represent telepathy. Telepathy is surrounded by quotes while thoughts are by single-quotes (', '). Or a flashback. Or a flashforward. Yes, Ivan, I realize that telepathy is a form of thought, but some people don't.
Research is in bold.
"Hello? Boss? You in here...?" Rei's voice echoed throughout the spacious room. "Sara... Could you--"
"No. I do not have mastery over the power of my own Aura yet, much less am I capable of finding that of others," she replied telepathically, her mental voice echoing around Rei's head much as his own had previously. Suddenly, the lights flickered on, revealing a white-tiled room with two machines sitting in the middle. They were capsule-like, with various tubes running out of them and into the other, wires running back to the operating station where sat a orange-brown pokémon with long, lanky arms and pointed features; ears, chin, and fingers. A defining feature was the atypical black whiskers that poked from the sides of his intelligent face.
"There is no need for that, Sara. I am right here," the Alakazam spoke, broadcasting his own mental voice throughout the room. Unlike the Riolu, his own physical voice was quite scratchy, as if he swallowed glass every day.
Sara frowned. "I really wish you wouldn't do that," she said aloud, slightly miffed. "It's possible to communicate telepathically without reading a person's mind."
"Sow...Ahem. Sorry," the Alakazam responded in like, sounding honestly apologetic, hard as that was to hear through his own rasps. He straightened himself, looking much more business-like in the process. "Regardless of that issue, could each of you; Sara, Rei, that is, get in one of the capsules. It matters not which."
Sara looked around, confusedly for Melonie to find that she wasn't there. "Where's Melonie?" she asked, directing the question both to her superior and to Rei, who looked around confusedly. The Psi pokémon stroked his moustache gently before speaking. "She is outside. I told her to stand guard. You three are the only ones aside from me that know of this project," He replied to them both. "The capsules, if you will," he reiterated. Rei and Sara each looked at each other, with a healthy dose of suspicion, before heading into a capsule; Rei into the one on the right, with Sara in the one on the left.
Her cherry-red eyes glinted in the now-sparse light of the chamber, unsettlingly similiar to the gas chambers used for executions. Little did she know that there was indeed a gas in there, one that would knock out rather than kill. The Alakazam thought sorrowfully at the two lab rats, 'Sorry, Rei. Only you can do this.'
The only thing the then-human was able to say before a loud pop was, "Wha--" Quickly inhaling in fear only led to his doom as both he and Sara lost their consciousness, being caught by machine-arms that came out of hdden slots in the sides.
"Did it go well?", one mental voice asked another somewhat coldly, almost devoid of emotion excepting a sadistic undertone of glee.
"It worked just as we planned it. Our plan is coming along excellently. Good work stealing the schematics, by the way. Not that it would have been too difficult," This echo of the mind was entirely calm with only the barest hint of humor. "I will get to work immediately on him. You may go back to your normal duties. Oh, and get rid of the human girl."
A cruel laugh echoed back across the connection as the link was cut.
Her throat felt as if it were sheathed in a furry mitt. Coughing harshly, the memories of what happened; those that she remembered, at the least, came rushing back to her. "Rr-Ack!" Sara began again to cough, this time rubbing her throat tenderly, recalling her last thoughts before she fell unconscious. 'Some...sort of drug...'
"Sala? Ale you hele, Sala?" Rei didn't seem to be suffering the same condition as her, though he was turning his 'R's into 'L's, reminding her of herself when she had first learned the human tongue. Turning around, she saw only another Riolu. 'Another Riolu? My kind is...quite rare. Come to think of it, where are we?' Suddenly, she realized that she hadn't yet opened her eyes, and was instead using her mediocre control of Aura to view it.
Opening her physical eyes, she found herself--And the other Riolu-- on the opposite sides of a wooden room bedded with straw. The walls looked to be of the kind that would make up the sides of a barn. The one unique feature to the room was the opening that (apparently) led outside. Looking back to the other Riolu, she saw him speak.
"Sala, when did you grol so big?" Sara gasped. Normally as calm as a Xatu, she panicked. Her eyes opened wide and her nostrils flared as she tried in vain to rationalize this.
"No. It...can't be. This must be a dream," she thought, unknowingly projecting her thoughts out. She pinched the skin on her wrist. It hurt.
"What is it, Sa...," as he spoke, he looked down at himself, reacting in quite an unexpected manner. He fainted again, falling over to the side, his head softly impacting the straw, immediately reawakening him. Rei turned his now black-and-blue head her way. "I'm still a Liolu, alen't I?" Sara nodded in reply, having calmed herself--outwardly, at the least.
There was a minute's silence in which they each stared at the other, thinking of what might be done. "Sarl...Sarrl," the once-human said, trying to work out his issues with 'R's, which still seemed to turn into 'L's. Clearing his throat, he held his tongue down, this time enunciating his 'R's clearly, "Sara... I don't think that... There's anything we can do. I'm not...sure that I even mind. I've always dreamed of being a pokémon, and now that I can be..." Rei shrugged, before smiling impishly. "Besides...Maybe now we'll be a bit more even, hm?"
Sara sat there in stunned silence as he spoke of his yearning. 'A human who wants to be a pokémon...?' But she was never one to back down from a challenge. "What say we find a clearing for this fight? Or training, considering how unused to your form you are?"
Both of them stood up, though Rei at once realized that what he had always assumed to be fur on his friend, covering the upper extremities, was actually a flap of fur-covered skin. "Interesting..."
The left side of Sara's lightly-toned mask rose a couple inches as she realized that he was speaking telepathically, likely without realizing it. Few were so skilled as to be able to do so without training, and fewer still Riolu. He spoke up suddenly, "I'll lead the way. I need some time to get used to this form, anyway."
Day 1
Subject is speaking normally and most biological functions seem to work well. The chip we implanted records that his heartrate and breathing is normal for such a specimen. We no longer have video nor audio, as he has moved out of the initial area with the female. Human and Riolu brains seem to be extremely similiar in function, though that of the Riolu reproduces its own brain cells as they die; as such, theoretically it would be possible to create a hybrid capable of infinite life, though we have not yet found what makes their brains capable of such a feat.
"Close your eyes. If you are to fight effectively, you need to be able to focus and at least learn the basics of Aura. Think of something rhythmic. The waves lapping on a beach works well. Breath in my count of seven, hold it for seven, then breath out for seven, repeating this. As you breath out, imagine the waves going out. As you breath in, then come in, then are held at the shore. One...two...three...," as Sara taught Rei meditation, speaking now in the instinctive language of Riolu instead of that of humans. Rei didn't seem to know the difference, but the teacher found herself pleasantly surprised both by how enjoyable the act of teaching was and by how receptive he was. As she saw him getting deeper into meditation, she headed off, leaving him alone, but still within her sight.
She had chosen a spot close to the barn where they had awoken for just that reason; So she could safely scout while keeping an eye on the youngster. Despite how high up in their former organization he had been, he was extremely young, plucked off the street as an orphan by the one they called "Boss", who had seen the youth's potential. Her hackles rose just thinking of the two-timing bastard. A hand touched her shoulder and she started, grabbing it and twisting it to send Rei flying. "Rei! What...Why did you sneak up on me?"
He looked at the female as if she were daft. "I didn't. I called your name five times."
"Well, then you should have been prepared. Focus," The last word she said more to herself. 'What if he had come back? I wouldn't be standing here! I need to stay prepared for anything!' She shook her head, clearing herself of such thoughts. They would get her nowhere. Instead, she needed to learn from her mistakes, not dwell on them. "Come on. We're going to a place I know of. It shoudl be fairly safe. Besides, we need to build up your wind, and traveling is the best way to do it." She sped off as only a fighting-type pokémon could.
"H-hey! Wait up!" Rei yelled after her, running quite a bit more clumsily than his cohort did, though he eventually was able to get a decent speed.
As the two travelled, the female occasionally stopped, to teach him several moves that Riolu were known to use.
Several miles later, Sara stopped for a break, only sweating lightly, though Rei was drenched in it. "How...do you...do this stuff?" he panted.
She smirked at the once-human, "Practice. Come on. There's a stream nearby we can wash off in."
Rei froze, "Us? As in, both of us? At the same time?" At this, the oddly-colored Riolu burst out laughing.
"You're a pokémon now! Besides, we're lucky. Even chaste Riolu can get away, because we have these," She pulled at the skin that hung down, covering her nether regions.
Rei chuckled a bit at her apt description, before replying, "Alright, then. Just don't get too close. Wouldn't want to make the local Magikarp think it was mating season!" He ran off toward the sound of water, his hearing now much better.
"Hey! I'll get you for that!" She yelled after him, chasing him right into the water and splashing him. Soon, they were soaking wet and it was late in the evening.
As each settled down to bed, Sara settling in the tree above him, Rei in an abandoned Mudkip hollow in that same tree. All the mud had dried, likely the cause of abandonment. "Is it okay if my lungs feel like they're about to shrivel up and die?" He asked, in complete seriousness.
"Yes. Now go to sleep, young one. And tomorrow the rest of your body will feel like that, so that's something to look forward to," Sara replied in like.
The newly-annointed Riolu groaned and curled ever tighter into the tree in which he lay, nearly falling asleep before his eyes even shut.
Sara was much slower to do so. She hadn't chosen to sleep high in the tree just because she preferred high places. The scout slept lightly and not well that night, worried of what might go bump in the night.
Well, that's that for now. I know it seemed a bit forced at spots, but I'm still getting used to this. As for when the next chapter will be? Only time will tell.