Island Wolf: Guys seriously, you are the sweetest people on the interwebs :) as always thank you for the faves, follows, views and reviews. They are all massively appreciated I assure you. Anyway here we are at chapter 5, I like this one a liiiittle better than chapter 4 - there's still a few things I'm not content with, but it sets up things for chapter 6 where I get to whip out my bio knowledge (it's been so long *happy tears*). Fun fact: the title of this chapter is based off of my favourite songs, a beautiful classic from the 20's 'Bye, Bye Blackbird' - Peggy Lee has a beautiful recording of it and I highly recommend it to you all :)

Disclaimer: I own neither pokemon, nor its characters - alas!

May fought tooth and nail with all her might as the guards dragged her through the maze of white washed hallways until they'd come to the chamber she'd been in yesterday. One of the guards finally seemed to lose his patience and gave her a sharp slap to the face. The other one used her stunned silence to heft her onto the table and strap her down. That done the two guards stood back and saluted the man in the lab coat before leaving the room. Ardos arrived shortly after their departure, all smiles as he entered.

"Hello May, you're looking lively – excellent, Dr. Farren was concerned that you wouldn't be physically fit enough to endure today's procedure. See William? I told you she was perfect!"

"Indeed Sir," Farren replied. Farren, whom she could only assume was a scientist of some sort, forced her arm open so that he could swab the inside with disinfectant, much like Ardos had done the day before.

"Please, oh please no!" May screamed, struggling with all her might, but the straps refused to give, biting into her flesh as she strained against them until her limbs were chafed and bleeding. "Please let me go!"

"Oh I'm afraid I can't do that Miss Maple," Farren chuckled and pierced her skin with an empty syringe, drawing back on the plunger so that it filled with her blood. "You're a prime specimen; one of the best trainers in the region, has shown a great deal of adaptability in a variety of situations, responds well to a myriad of stimuli and has shown the most unique ability to commune with ancient pokémon. Absolutely fascinating, quite the feat of Darwinism you are my dear."

"What the fuck are you doing!? Why did you take my blood!?"

"Hm? Oh yes, I suppose I should explain myself shouldn't I," Farren said with a smile. "You reaction would be noteworthy in the grand scheme of our experiment!"

"Experiment?"

"Oh yes! Now, you've heard of shadow pokémon and how they are manufactured," the elderly scientist said as he inspected the puncture wound he'd just created. "The process is now quite flawless I assure you. Even if snagged, it now takes a very specific combination of variables to unlock the pokémon's heart, something I highly doubt your compatriots will be able to do with any sort of efficiency. Now, shadow pokémon are, by their nature hard to control – even our most hardened Cipher personnel still treat their pokémon as if they had emotion, even if it's on a subconscious level and this is what confuses them, causes to go into that hyper mode. What we're aiming to do with you is create a class of trainer that is capable of treating shadow pokémon as they were intended to be treated, as machines. We plan to achieve this by using a similar process on human trainers. We will be creating a 'shadow trainer' as it were – I agree the moniker is a little silly, but Master Ardos has a flair for the dramatic, don't you Sir? Now, obviously the brain structure of a human is significantly more complex than that of most pokémon so the process is more challenging, that said once it is accomplished it will be far more difficult to reverse the process. In fact I predict it will be nigh on impossible. You my dear, have the honour and the privilege to be the first of this new class of human being – the first of our elite black ops force, and you will be given the glory of commanding Kyogre and Groudon, once we get a hold of it."

"No, no!" May shrieked. "You can't, I won't do it, I won't!"

"I'm afraid you really don't have a choice," Ardos laughed, patting the back of May's hand as Farren left the room with the syringe of her blood. "Just sit tight, Dr. Farren is going to analyze your DNA and adjust our formula to you. This will trigger changes in your base genetic code, we need to prep you physically before we start digging around in that beautiful head of yours. The perfect mind must be housed by the perfect body after all."

"Ardos let me go, please!" May begged. Ardos tilted his head ever so slightly and gently brushed away her tears.

"Oh dear May, don't cry – it'll all be over soon I promise."

His voice was so gentle and so genuine that May wanted to retch. She strained to pull away, but he seized her jaw with deft fingers and forced her to look at him. Ardos' steel blue eyes traced her lower lip as he brought his other hand to her hip, running his thumb along the curve of the bone there. When she started to recoil his grip became tight, splaying his fingers across her pelvis to pin her down. "Now, now, please don't fight this May. Just let it happen, we'll take good care of you I promise."

He let go of her chin and dropped his fingers to her collarbone, smiling gently. May was suddenly very aware of just how helpless she was. This man could do anything he wanted to her right now and she wouldn't be able to do a damn thing - and that terrified her. She shut her eyes tightly and tried to send herself far, far away. She'd always been able to count on herself, on her pokémon, but now...she thought about Maxie and suddenly had a deep and new found respect for the man. He'd done a lot of terrible things, but never, never had he sunk so low, never had he been so cruel. She struggled to fight back a sob. Despite it all she would have given almost anything to have him here right now.

Farren reentered the room some time later carrying a syringe filled with a clear liquid with a faint purple tint. May screamed and started struggling again, but Adros held her down, forcing her arm out straight, allowing Farren to pierce her skin with the needle and push down the plunger. An icy chill started creeping up her arm as it raced along her bloodstream. When it reached her heart the palpitations were so severe that she feared that it would stop altogether. Eventually the chill receded and left her limp and gasping on the table. Ardos smiled and pushed her sweat-dampened hair away from her face. She felt sick.

"There, there that wasn't so bad now was it?" he crooned. His hand trailed down her side, hooking his long fingers just beneath the hem of her shirt. He toyed with the fabric and smiled. "We're almost done for the day, just one more little thing."

Farren stepped forward again, holding a wicked looking metal device. He held it over her wrist and pressed the trigger. There was a soft, pneumatic hiss and May felt a sharp pain shoot up her arm. The elderly scientist removed the device and dabbed away the blood oozing out of the puncture wound. He produced a PDA like device and held it over her wrist. There was a soft, electronic beep and he smiled. "The implant is functioning perfectly Sir."

"Excellent," Ardos murmured, running his finger against the new wound, sending a shiver up May's spine. "We just implanted you with a bio-chip; it monitors your vital signs and will give us your precise location at all times so we can look after you. Now don't worry May, you won't turn into my perfect shadow over night, that's going to take time – we need to condition you and make some...enhancements. First things first, I need to get rid of that stubborn determination of yours. I find pain to be the most persuasive of my employees. It worked splendidly on that Blaziken of yours. You should see him now! I haven't seen such a powerful creature in quite some time! Ah, but we'll talk about that later. I'm going to return you to your cell now. You should rest while you can, things are going to be much harder from here on out."

May screamed. She screamed for her mother and father, she screamed for Maxie - she screamed until her voice gave out and the world dissolved around her.

"Hello Mr. Asher, pardon me I was just escorting your companion back."

Maxie turned sharply and what he saw made him see red.

Ardos, flanked by two gun-toting Cipher agents, came walking down the hall with May held limply in his arms. A snarl that would have put a Mightyena to shame ripped itself from Maxie's throat. "Ardos what the hell are you doing! What have you done to her!?"

"I've put her on the path to perfection," Ardos smiled. The syndicate leader looked pointedly at the guard to his left, who promptly used a key card to unlock and open the cell door. Ardos walked inside, completely disregarding Maxie's presence as he deposited her on to the cot. He left the room and only when the door had been locked again did he turn back to look at his prisoners. "I'd be careful when she wakes up. She might be a little...moody."

With that he left, laughing to himself and Maxie carefully approached the woman laying prone in the corner. He checked her pulse and was relieved to find it steady and strong beneath his fingers. She appeared to be sedated and he noted that there were several more puncture marks along the inside of her arm as well as sinister looking bruises on her hip where her shirt had ridden up. What the hell has he done to you?

Sighing, he eased himself down next to the cot, resting his back against the wall. He hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep until his was awoken by a strange sound and a fierce pain in his chest. Blinking owlishly he glanced over at May and was alarmed to find her covered in a thin sheen of sweat, her back arching up from the cot as a harsh sound rumbled deep in her throat. Maxie shifted onto his knees and attempted calm her.

"Miss Maple what -"

As soon as his fingers brushed against her skin her eyes flew open and snapped towards him. Her pupils had dilated to an alarming degree; the azure eyes he'd come to know were engulfed by two pools of crushing darkness, a silver of pale blue ringing them. Her lips skinned back over her teeth in a vicious snarl as she threw herself at him, hands latching tightly around his throat. He saw stars as the back of his head hit the floor and his vision continued to waver as she applied crushing pressure onto his windpipe. He was on the verge of passing out when he finally managed to collect his wits. He grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled, effectively headbutting her. That seemed to catch her off guard and she relinquished her hold, falling backwards with a snarling yelp. He stayed on his back, trying very hard to breathe again, but between the injured ribs and bruised windpipe it was exceedingly difficult.

"M-Maxie?"

Her voice was hushed, hoarse and very scared, but he still couldn't see straight, let alone sit up to face her. Cold, but gentle hands were suddenly on him, brushing the hair away from his face and caressing the bruises forming on his throat. He blinked and finally his vision started to clear. She was hovering above him, tears running openly down her face. Her eyes were no longer deep voids of black, but neither were they the bright, azure orbs he'd come to know. They were darker and seemed clouded and dim. "Maxie I'm so, so sorry I don't know – I don't know what happened! I just couldn't control myself -"

"Calm down girl," he managed to rasp out. "The last thing I need is you in hysterics gah -"

He couldn't quite bite back a cry of pain when she unwittingly settled a hand on his chest, pressing down slightly on one of his cracked ribs. She flinched and immediately drew her hand back. "What is it? What did I do?"

"No, no it's fine that's – from before."

"...So they did hurt you."

The change in her voice was so sudden and so stark that Maxie nearly passed out from the pain when he inhaled sharply. Her lips were drawn back in a snarl again and her eyes had darkened, a growl rumbling deep in her throat. "Miss Maple! Snap out of it!"

She flinched and started to shiver. "Maxie?"

He slowly tried to sit up and she placed a supporting hand beneath his back, guiding him to the cell wall so he could lean against it. His breathing was ragged and he didn't want to think about how much damage she'd done when she'd tackled him to the ground.

"What – did they do to you?" he asked through gritted teeth. "Tell me everything."

May drew her knees up to her chest again – a nervous habit of hers he was beginning to suspect. "A shadow...they're trying to turn me into a human shadow."

Maxie felt his blood run cold at her hushed admission.

"That's impossible, how would they even -"

"I'm not sure about the details, but – so far they've injected me with some kind of mutagen. From what I understand it's supposed to target my DNA...change me physically to prepare me for the next stage of treatment. That's all I know."

Her voice was barely above a whisper when she finished talking and Maxie felt truly horrified. The young woman's world was imploding; she was watching herself turn into a shell of a human being knowing full well that her hands would be dripping with red when Ardos put her into service. It would have been a mercy just to kill her and yet...

He reached out and gently took hold of her hand, pulling her towards him. He turned her, easing her into a sitting position against the wall next to him and curled his arm around her shoulders. What am I doing?

"Maxie what -"

"Hush and just listen to me," he said. "We'll figure something out."

"...We?"

"Yes, we," he sighed and he felt her relax slightly. She curled up, nestling herself firmly into his side without hesitation and looked up at him with tired eyes, but there was the ghost of a smile hovering around her lips.

"Maxie – I'm so sorry I attacked you. I swear if you manage to figure a way to get us out of here, your next bottle of Dalmore is on me."

He laughed softly – what else could he do? It was better than giving in to despair. Still, it gave him a little bit of heart knowing that the feisty young woman he knew was still in there somewhere. He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I'll be holding you to that."

"My only request is that your first drink of it is with me."

"Oh really? Miss Maple, has anyone ever told you how demanding you are?"

"On numerous occasions, so do we have a deal?"

"Yes," Maxie huffed, though there was humour in his voice and he heard her laugh.

"Then it's a date."

"Don't let Mr. Stone hear you say that, I'd rather not have to worry about yet another attempt on my life," he said and then looked down at her with a wicked grin. "I do make a rather splendid salmon risotto though, so you'll have that to look forward to."

She gaped at him for a moment before dissolving into a fit of giggling and she had to bury her face into his side to stifle her laughter. Eventually they lapsed into silence and for a moment he thought she'd fallen asleep until she whispered softly.

"...Maxie I want you to promise me something."

"What?"

"Please don't leave me here alone. Just – stay with me as long as you can before I..."

She couldn't finish the sentence as her voice failed her, but she didn't have to. Maxie leaned his head back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling. For so long he had desired to see the young woman in his arms beaten down, for so long he'd craved retribution for his defeat, his humiliation and yet – here she was, on the verge of truly being broken and he wanted nothing more than to shield her from the monsters and take her away from all the death and the fear. He closed his eyes and sighed. No, it was the stress, it was the loss, they were forced into this situation together it was only natural to -

You're a terrible liar old boy, you've lost your touch

He didn't care, he couldn't care.

Liar, liar, liar

He gritted his teeth at the little voice whispering in the back of his mind.

He'd had plenty of chances to hurt her in the past, but he hadn't acted on any of them. Why? Perhaps he didn't want to see her beaten down after all – he'd wanted to fight her yes, to pit himself against a worthy opponent and see those azure eyes ablaze. He'd wanted the challenge and perhaps to prove himself against the girl who'd saved the world from the hubris of two bitter, foolish men. She wasn't afraid of a fight, she was stubborn, she didn't know when to quit, and she vexed him at every turn, but gods be damned if he wasn't a little bit fond of her for it. To see her sitting there, completely lost and afraid – a quivering shadow of her former glory, it pained him.

The realization was startling, and it felt like the axis of the earth had shifted beneath him, but there was no time to think about it. He tightened his grip around her and she rested her head against his chest. Here she was again, trusting him completely as she slipped into a doze in his arms. The faith she put in him, it was...

"I will...I promise."

"Oh, now isn't this touching. I'm almost sorry to break this up."

Maxie started awake at the sound of Ardos' voice and reflexively tightened his grip on the young woman still in his arms. She moaned softly and stirred as the door to the cell door opened and Ardos, flanked by his usual two guards came inside. Maxie snarled and quickly repositioned himself in front of May.

Ardos tilted his head to one side ever so slightly, his thin lips curling upwards in a smile that could only be called Machiavellian. Maxie heard May whimper behind him and he set his jaw. "My, my awfully protective of her aren't you – this girl that you've wanted to bring down for years. Are you perhaps jealous that I managed to do it first hm?" He paused and his smile widened. "No, no that's not it at all. I have to say I'm surprised you let yourself get so attached so quickly, but she is a remarkable young woman so I can understand the allure. Now move aside Mr. Asher lest you try my patience."

"I'm not going to let you harm her."

"You forget Mr. Asher, I'm not harming her – I am perfecting her," Ardos said, "and there is nothing you can do to stop it. She belongs to me, and I will do whatever I want with her. Now then, time is precious and I cannot afford to waste a single moment."

On cue one of Ardos' bodyguards pulled out a silver canister and tossed it into the room. It immediately began emitting a pale smoke and Maxie swore. Ardos laughed as he and his guards backed out of the cell. The door was pulled shut again, containing the knockout gas to the chamber. Behind him May was shaking violently, gripping on to his arm like a lifeline. "I don't want him to take me, please – please!"

"I'm sorry," he said, turning to face her. "Close your eyes."

She did so and he quickly moved behind her. He wrapped one arm around the front of her shoulders and brought the other up to the side of her head. Just one deft twist and it would be over – she wouldn't know what was going on, she wouldn't feel a thing...it would be a kindness to her, and gods only knew how many lives he'd spare by denying Ardos his 'perfect shadow'...

But damn it, damn it all to fucking hell and back, he couldn't do it.

He felt his breathing hitch and pulled her close so that he could whisper in her ear. "You're going to pass out in a few seconds so listen carefully. No matter what they do, you need to hold on to yourself for as long as you can. I will do everything in my power to help you, I promise."

"But what if -"

"I won't leave without you," Maxie growled fiercely, fighting hard against the fog beginning to cloud his senses. "Even if Ardos turns you. I won't leave you behind."

She twisted around in his arms and through the haze he could see her smile. She reached up and gently took his face in her hands, touching her forehead to his. Maxie closed his eyes against the stabbing pain he felt ripping through his chest that had nothing to do with his injuries. "I know," she whispered before the knockout gas finally took effect and she slumped forward. He caught her and glared over her unconscious form at Ardos' hazy image. I will kill you for this Ardos, I swear – I will end you.

He slipped into darkness with her name on his lips. When he awoke he was completely alone.

It had been two days - or so he assumed, there was no real way to keep track of time aside from the guard rotation – and there was no sign of May.

There was little he could do but walk the length of his cell and occasionally try to sleep, but his dreams were filled with visions of azure eyes and blood on the snow. He was in the middle of a particularly vicious fit of pacing when a voice made him freeze in his tracks.

"My, my someone seems agitated."

Maxie turned sharply on the spot and clasped his hands behind his back – he refused to be intimidated by the blue haired man smirking on the other side of the Plexiglas wall. He raised his chin by way of a challenge and sneered. "What do you want Ardos, finally come to dispose of me?"

"Dispose of you? Oh no," Ardos laughed, his ice blue eyes flashing behind his tinted glasses. "Well not yet anyway."

"State your business Ardos, I'm a busy man."

"Now that's what I expect of the fearsome head of Team Magma," Ardos replied, grinning broadly. "Come back to you senses now that the girl is gone."

Maxie narrowed his eyes, but refused to let the other man goad him into a rage. It was true after all – he'd been worried yes, and almost sick with fear at times, but without her here he could at least think a little more clearly. He had to remain focused, detached...for both their sakes. "Ardos..."

"Now, now can't I check on my guests to see how they're faring hm? I've been hoping to speak to you one on one for some time now. Now let's see, Maximilian Nathaniel Asher, born into a very well to do family – Asher is an old name with old money. You joined the Hoenn military when you were eighteen and saw service in the North Wars twenty years back where you received special commendations. You retired shortly thereafter with the rank of Captain despite being well on your way to Major and founded Team Magma. Have I missed anything?"

"It seems you have me at a disadvantage – and if this is how your treat your guests, I'd hate to see how you treat your prisoners."

Ardos smile widened. "I don't take prisoners."

Inwardly Maxie was fuming. Ardos was purposely guiding the conversation in circles, waiting until he finally asked about May. That was the point of this visit after all and that thought bothered him greatly – Ardos was a man who knew that psychological torture would be a far more effective tool against him than physical abuse. He knew how to play the game.

"Where is she?"

Ardos' grin reminded him of a Seviper. "Still undergoing treatment. The first stage is almost complete and I have to say she's preforming well above expectations. Ah, but I suppose I should elaborate – would you care to listen?"

"I don't have any pressing engagements."

"Good man," Ardos chuckled. "I'm sure she told you that we started her off with a series of injections to stimulate physical changes at the molecular level."

"You altered her DNA."

"Well that's pushing it a bit. It's merely a few base substitutions in select genes to manipulate the proteins that they code for. The result is a trainer who is just as dangerous as her pokémon in a physical sense; greater actin fibre density, increased bone density, higher physical endurance...we considered increased cellular regeneration, but it's far too troublesome logistically speaking – shortens the lifespan of the organism and allows for a higher risk of mutation," Ardos sighed, almost sounding regretful. "We learned that the hard way with Mr. Caspian I'm afraid."

"Caspian – Archie?" Maxie said, eyes widening.

"Yes, we took Mr. Caspian when we liquidated Team Aqua so that we could continue testing our human shadow protocol. He was the most successful specimen prior to Miss Maple, alas the second stage of treatment proved too much for him. He was such a promising candidate too," Ardos sighed, shaking his head. He looked at Maxie again and smirked. "You were going to be our next test subject, but we felt that we'd learned enough from Mr. Caspian's trial to go ahead with Miss Maple's procedure."

"Then why have I not been disposed of?"

"I'm an opportunist Mr. Asher, you are still of use to me, ergo you will remain here until you are not."

"I see...might I enquire as to the next steps in Miss Maple's procedure?"

"Curious Mr. Asher? I can appreciate that. We've been conditioning her over the past two days and – now this is where it gets exciting – we finally get to start the neurosurgery."

"Neuro – you're going to operate on her brain!?"

"Well of course. Humans are significantly more complex than pokémon, especially in terms of brain structure. Pokémon, even the most intelligent species, lack the complex cerebral cortex that humans do – they are still primarily instinctual creatures which makes them far easier to control. A few drug injections here, an implant or two there and you have a perfectly obedient machine. A human brain is much different. It needs to be...rewired."

Maxie couldn't speak, he couldn't even breathe. Ardos was still talking, but he'd stopped listening long ago. All he could think about was May stretched out on an operating table somewhere with that horrible lab rat of a man cutting into her. When he came back to his senses Ardos was watching him with a wide smile. "Oh touched a nerve have I?" he said. "Here, I'll make you a deal Mr. Asher – I promise to let you view the finished product of my work when she's ready. In fact, it will be the last thing you ever see."

"I thought you said I was still of use to you."

"Oh you are...as a final test," Ardos said. "You feature prominently in Miss Maple's psyche, did you know that? The only reason she's complied with anything we've told her is by assuring her that it would guarantee your safety. She's rather fond of you it would seem – perhaps she has a masochistic streak? In any case, disposing of you would be an excellent final test. If she manages to complete it than the procedure will be deemed a complete success. At least you'll get to see her again before the end, I hope you find that comforting."

He turned sharply on his heel and left, whistling an obscenely cheery tune that echoed through the white-washed hallways.

Silence fell again, but it didn't last long. Maxie let out a roar and slammed his fist against the Plexiglas. The skin of his knuckles split and left an ugly red smear in its wake. He'd expected something underhanded from Ardos, but that had been a level of low he hadn't been prepared for. He moved to the cot and sat down on its edge, head in his hands. Dying wasn't a troubling concept for him – he'd stared down that path far too many times, but having May be the method of his execution – that bothered him.

Maxie exhaled heavily. He'd made a grave error in letting Ardos see his concern for her. Poor girl...Damn him, he couldn't even think about her harshly anymore. Ever since that night she'd come to his room she'd been ghosting through his thoughts. He doubted she even realized what an effect she'd had on him – she'd shown a great deal of trust, coming to him in such a vulnerable state. It had bothered him immensely. This was a girl he'd threatened, attacked and viciously scorned on multiple occasions, and yet ever since that night, despite all that he had done, she'd shown nothing but complete faith in him. He remembered the way she'd held him in the helicopter, the gentle way she'd touched him after her attack. She hadn't recoiled when he'd reached out to her, she'd been -

When he'd told her that he would find a way to help her, that he wouldn't leave her behind she'd believed him. He could see it in her eyes, those thrice damned beautiful eyes. He felt his throat tighten.

Oh no

He'd gone from despising her, to begrudgingly respecting her, to – somehow, somehow, she'd become important to him. Within the space of two weeks his entire world had been destroyed; his pride, his people, everything he'd worked so hard to rebuild after the Groudon incident – gone. Except her. She was all he had left and hell be damned if he was going to let Ardos take her away.

It was over a week before Ardos came to see him again.

"Good day Mr. Asher, are you ready to see the fruits of our labour?"

"I suspect I don't have much of a choice."

Ardos smiled and swiped his card key through the electronic lock. It beeped and the door swung open. Ardos stood to one side and beckoned Maxie to follow him. Maxie narrowed his eyes and did his best to straighten his shirt and hair. He would face the firing squad with dignity.

He followed Ardos through the maze of white washed hallways until they came to a large, arena like space – a training ground of sorts not unlike the one that had been in the subbasement of the Magma headquarters, but far more sinister. It was cold and damp like a tomb and the floor was stained in what was almost certainly blood. A Mightyena stood panting and whining in the centre of the battlefield. It was sporting numerous numerous open wounds and its limbs were trembling from exhaustion. Maxie inhaled sharply – he recognized the beleaguered canine. "Gabriel!"

The Mightyena's ears perked and the wolf-like pokémon turned to look at him, letting out a long, low whine before turning back to face -

No

She'd been standing so inhumanly still that he hadn't noticed her. Clad in black neoprene and layered with ebony body armour she now truly looked the part of a shadow. A visored helmet covered her head, her face hidden behind a holographic display presumably used to communicate orders and calculate attack variables. Thick cables connected various parts of the suit together, some feeding directly into ports that were embedded in the pale silver of skin at the base of her neck, visible at the junction of helm and backplate. Behind her, peering around a stack of computer equipment was Professor Farren, typing furiously with a gleeful smile. "Alpha-XD1, your master is present."

May, or rather what used to be May turned sharply to face them. She brought up her right arm and crossed it across her chest by way of salute. Beside him Ardos smiled and looked to Farren. "Running a new experiment I see?"

"Yes, the rest of her party have already undergone shadow treatment – they were valuable specimens, but we already have a surplus of Mightyena so I thought I would test her physical capabilities to see what she can manage on her own."

"Excellent! Well why don't you finish up and then we'll proceed on to the final test!" Ardos said with a smile and turned to Maxie. "You're in luck, you get to witness what she can do first hand – before she does the same to you. Such wonderful timing!"

Farren retreated behind the computer array. "Alpha-XD1, eliminate target."

May turned to face her Mightyena again and bent her legs slightly. She became a black blur and crossed the field with speed that wasn't human. She seized the canine by the throat, ignoring his pained yelping and slammed him into the ground with a sickening crack. Blood flowed freely out of the pokémon's mouth as she hauled him up by the scruff of his neck. Curling her other arm around the canine's head she twisted sharply. There was a loud snap and Gabriel went limp, gazing at Maxie with glassy, sightless eyes. May dropped the carcass and drew back up to full height, standing stock still and gazing ahead, but it didn't seem like her gaze was focused on anything in particular.

Maxie wanted to be sick.

Ardos had done the unthinkable. He had taken everything that was May Maple and utterly destroyed it. The laughing, witty, beautiful girl with the azure eyes was gone and a cold, killing machine had taken her place. He should have killed her when he had the chance – if May ever did recover, he doubted she'd ever be whole again, not with the knowledge that she'd killed one of her dearest companions with her own hands and gods only knew what else Ardos had already forced her to do.

Ardos walked across the arena, placing an arm around May's shoulders with something akin to pride. "Isn't she amazing? Absolutely stunning form, no hesitation," he said. He unhooked the thick cable the connected her visored helm to the base of her neck and a port that he assumed connected with her spinal chord, and removed the helmet. May didn't even blink at the motion and Maxie started to doubt whether she was even aware of what was going on. Those eyes, those soulless black eyes were lifeless and cold. "She came through the treatment with flying colours. The enhancements are functioning far better than we ever could have hoped. Look."

He produced a small switchblade and unsheathed it. He carefully gripped her chin with one hand and drew the knife blade across her cheek. Blood welled up between the parted flesh, slowly rolling down her face like macabre tears, but she didn't flinch, she didn't react...she didn't even blink. Ardos smiled and replaced the helmet and reconnected the cable. The visor flickered and the display came back to life, hiding her dead eyes from view. "See? No reaction to pain, no emotion. She is flawless!" he crowed as he pocketed his knife.

"Seems rather inefficient if you have to input key commands for every little thing."

"Ah, the stiff upper lip right to the bitter end. You're such a military man Mr. Asher. Farren has to use commands yes, but me..." he said and then snapped his fingers. "Alpha-XD1 return to your starting position."

Almost immediately the visor pulsed with light and she turned sharply on her heel, crossing the field with mechanical precision in her gait. "You see the neural implants are coded to respond to my particular voice pattern and transforms them into electrical impulses that translate to commands in her brain. Farren really out did himself."

"You're too kind Sir!"

"Now then, I'm afraid we can't stall this any longer. Alpha-XD1, that man there is your target...eliminate him."

He didn't even see her move. One moment she was standing at the far end of the field and the next she'd seized him by the front of his shirt and lifted him clean off of the ground, throwing him into the centre of the arena. He landed hard on his back, knocking the wind out of him, but he didn't have any time to recover. Her gauntleted hand latched around his throat like a vice with a savage strength that should not have been possible. Blackness was encroaching upon the edges of his vision when old instincts finally kicked in. He brought his knee up and jammed it into her side. It hardly seemed to faze her, but it gave him just enough space to hook his leg in behind her left knee. Her strength was superhuman, but he had sheer mass on his side and we wedged an arm between them, pushing her to one side and using his leg to knock her off balance.

She was thrown off of him from the manoeuvre, but she immediately rolled into a predatory crouch, and launched herself at him again. He rolled out of the way, barely avoiding her armoured fist as it created a small crater in the arena floor where his head had been. He'd just manage to get to his feet when she bull-rushed him, head down like a Tauros. Any healing progress he'd made during the week was immediately undone and then some as he felt his ribs crack from the force of the blow. They fell to the ground, but Maxie used the momentum of her charge to force her into a roll where he ended up on top of her. He struggled to keep her arms pinned down. "May, snap out of it – you know who I am!"

She twisted out of his grasp and forced them into another roll, effectively reversing their positions, pressing her knee against his sternum ruthlessly

"May please! Remember who I am, remember what I promised you!"

There it was, the slightest easing of the pressure on his chest – the barest hint of hesitation.

"Come on May, come back – please come back," he wheezed desperately. "May please!"

The lights on her visor flickered and she started to lean back when Ardos' voice, cold and commanding cut across the arena. "Alpha-XD1, eliminate your target!"

A spasm racked her body and she immediately started applying pressure again, grabbing him by the throat and squeezing mercilessly. Maxie struggled against her grip, but to no avail – there was no breaking her hold and he was far to exhausted to fight her any longer. He closed his eyes and felt the world begin to slip away into soft, muffled darkness.

An explosion rocked the building and the world suddenly came rushing back into painful clarity. The pressure on his throat and chest disappeared and he gasped for air. Smoke and dust were heavy in the air, alarms were screaming and the harsh tattoo of automatic gunfire echoed throughout the building. Maxie sat up and saw a silver haired man come striding through the gloom, a fierce looking Skarmory at his side. Steven Stone was nearly unrecognizable in dark grey Kevlar and a Beretta in his hand. "Where's May?"

As if on cue she came barrelling out of the haze. Her armoured fist slammed into the side of the Skarmory's head with a resounding clang, sending the steel-plated bird slamming into the opposite wall. Before Maxie could call out Steven raised his gun and squeezed off three shots, two of the bullets embedded themselves harmlessly into her body armour, but the third grazed the visor. A spiderweb of cracks snaked across the display. It flickered several times before the holographic display died altogether. Slowly, she reached up and grabbed the broken interface, snapping it off with one deft twist of her wrist. She tossed it aside and turned to look at Steven with her face uncovered for the first time.

"M-May!?"

"Steven get away from her, she's not May anymore!"

She was staring at the both of them, apparently unsure which one of them to target. Maxie looked around. Ardos and Farren were nowhere to be seen – this was their only chance. Like any machine, if there was no one to input the programming she was useless. "Steven quickly, incapacitate her!"

"How?"

"You have pokémon idiot boy! Use Sleep Powder, Stun Spore – just do something!"

Steven glared at him, but produced a pokéball nonetheless. His Vileplume appeared in a flash of light. May instantly dropped into that deadly crouch of hers, but before she could launch herself forward the Vileplume shook its flowered head and enveloped her in a cloud of glittering green spores. She huffed and skittered backwards, sneezing and coughing. She dropped down onto all fours and slowly started to succumb to the effects of the spores. Steven was already on the radio, barking for an emergency evacuation. Maxie felt his legs buckle and he was suddenly on his knees, retching. His mouth tasted like copper and salt and he pitched forward into blissful oblivion.

Island Wolf: Awww yiss, now we gettin' to the good stuff son! So there was a little more Maxie/May interaction this time on a more intimate level - this bothered me for the longest time because I thought it was happening a little too quickly, but when I looked back and reexamined the scenario I managed to pick some sense out of it. The two of them have suffered from a great deal of physical and mental trauma in a very short space of time and they really only have each other to look to. Maxie, while yes he was a villain in the past, we have to remember that his endgame and his motives (even if they were a bit...misguided) were to help people and pokemon as a whole. So yes he's abrasive and acerbic and not the nicest of individuals, but he's not evil at heart and therein lies my defense of this chapter and the changes I've made to it from Ashes to Ashes. So in summary, May is undergoing severe mental torture and she has no one to rely on but Maxie while Maxie, experienced as he is being a war veteran and all, has also suffered a severe blow - his entire life, everything he has worked for since the Groudon incident has been destroyed and May is all that he really has at the moment. Poor bloke has been through a lot in his life and one can only take so much. The fact that May, despite it all, still treats him like a human being and shows him genuine compassion also means quite a lot to him in my mind - it's something he's not used to.

Also Ardos is slowly getting creepier with every paragraph, it's tough to write - dude seriously skeeves me out.

Anywaaaays, until next time, stay classy you fine, fine people ;)