"Uugh… Where am I…?" Tobias slowly awoke, muttering his thoughts out loud. His body felt sluggish, like it had been caked in hot tar. He took a moment to think. Of course he wasn't covered in hot tar. So what was up with him?
"Look! He's waking up!" He heard a woman's voice shout, presumably to the other people who were… looking after him. Slowly tearing open his eyelids, he found himself staring at a white ceiling with flickering lights along the roof. He tried to sit up but he was too tired. "Here." He felt a bowl being pushed to his face, with liquid sloshing around his chin. "It's not poison. I swear!" He now had the horrible feeling that it was poison. But he was really thirsty. He sipped a bit of the soup. It tasted nice, and he felt it trickle into his stomach, making him feel slightly better. He had drunk half the bowl when he tried to stand up.
As the nurse picked him up off the floor, he realised he had made a mistake. Even if he hadn't had an IV drip in his arm, he felt way too weak. His head spun and his muscles ached.
"How do you feel?" The nurse asked tentatively. He tried to focus on her, see her as more than an indistinct blob. He stared at her for a few seconds, and his eyes eventually focused. "Hey. You look like-"
"A Nurse Joy? I know." She was dressed in a basic white Nursing outfit, but it looked rougher than usual. The person wearing it didn't look that good either. Like she never had any time off. In contrast to the usual well-groomed look of Nurse Joys, her hair was messier, her eyes looked more sunken. "I used to be one. Until I was recruited."
Sitting on the bed, he sighed. "I had enough of these clichés from Lysandre. If you're not going to tell me what's happened-"
"We rescued you." A figure stood at a doorway he hadn't noticed. He stood there smiling slightly, his hands at his sides, red hair styled to look as if it was flowing in a breeze, even though there wasn't one. "I'm Lance, of the IIB."
He frowned. "No. You're Lance of the Kanto Elite Four. Or possibly Johto. I can never remember."
"Both." Lance smirked. "And no. I'm Chief Operative for the International Investigation Bureau. We were in the midst of thwarting Team Flare's plan's when we found you there. So, I guess we owe you some thanks."
"Yeah. You seemed to be doing such a great job. What tipped you off- the Team Flare café that Lysandre owned? Or was it the fact that he spent all his time going 'Everyone should die'? Or was it, by any chance, the bloody huge holocaster call that he sent to everyone telling them 'I'm sorry, but you're going to die'?" He was agitated now. Even if they were only minutes behind, Lysandre was dead. Yveltal was free. They were all dead!
"Are you listening?" Oh, Lance had started talking. "Anyway, when we arrived, we found Team Flare's base destroyed. There were several dead bodies in the base, including Lysandre's. Thank you for that. It makes it look like an accident, killing him in his own experiment."
"I didn't kill him. I'm not a murderer."
Lance smirked again. "Of course you're not. We know he died by the Pokemon of Destruction, Yveltal, which he was planning to use, presumably, to kill every one of the planet. It backfired, and Yveltal drained his life. We found his corpse underneath the rubble. It was autopsied a few days ago."
"A few days…" Tobias thought, and eventually he realised something. "How long have I been out for?"
The Former Nurse Joy spoke up. "About eight days. I guess I'm sorry. You didn't make it."
The last words took a minute to sink in. "…Wait, what? Are you saying-"
"Yes, you're technically dead." Lance bluntly stated it.
"You mean legally, right? As in, according to the government, I'm dead?"
The Nurse spoke up. "No. When you came in, you had no vitals. No heart rate; no breathing; nothing. But when we hooked you up to an ECG, you still had a brain signal. You're…" She paused, looking for the right word. "Undead, we suppose. Exposure to the radiation from Yveltal seems to be the cause. It would have killed you, except you bonded to the creature, protecting you. It seems that's why it let you capture it."
"…So I'm really dead?"
The Nurse smiled slightly, obviously trying to make him feel better. "Undead." It didn't work.
"And what's this bond thing? And what do you mean, I caught it? I caught Yveltal?" He tried to check on his belt, but it wasn't there. He realised he was wearing different clothes.
"They were burnt and torn. Sorry!" The Nurse gave a guilty smile. Tobias sighed. Great! So he was dead, and his Pokemon weren't here, so he had no chance of getting away from these crazy people.
"How do I know if you're telling the truth?" He raised an eyebrow at the pair in front of him.
"You don't. Of course, this may convince you." He tossed a leather case towards him. It landed next to him. He picked it up, his muscles feeling a lot less sore after a few minutes of being awake. The wallet contained a badge and a picture of Lance, along with details about him.
"Why would this convince me?" He looked back up to find Lance pointing a gun at his body.
He fired, and said, "Not that. This." He smirked.
Tobias couldn't hear him over the screaming he was doing. The bullet tore hit him in the chest, but he felt only small amounts of pain. He watched in horror as his blood started pouring out, only to stop almost immediately. His skin started knotting together, as if the damage to him was being reversed, the bullet being pushed out by the organs re-growing. He would have thrown up, but he hadn't eaten enough for his stomach to respond.
"So, we'd like to make you an offer so you can use your skills to their fullest." Lance strode over to the bed, putting his hands on Tobias's shoulders and looking into his eyes. "We want you to work for us."
He was in shock. "You shot me. Why, on any world, would I work for you?" He spoke emotionlessly.
Lance continued to stare into his eyes. "Of course, we could just cut you open. Experiment on you and your legendary bond. We don't have enough information on this at the moment, so you could provide some interesting autopsy results. Of course, for you, it would be a biopsy."
He thought slowly, not from hunger, but because of Lance's offer. Or, rather, the thinly-veiled threat. He was a really great guy to be around. The Nurse seemed alright though. Way too happy.
"Fine. I'll work for you. On one condition." Lance took his hands off and started walking away. "Did you not hear me ask for a condition?"
"I did. Why I have to answer it, though, is what I don't understand. But I'll humour you."
"What is this legendary bond thing? You said I'm still alive because of it-"
"No. It's keeping you around. Like I said-"
"Fine. I'm dead. But you still haven't said what it is."
This time, Lance sighed. "Simple. Bonds can be formed between some Pokemon and humans, giving those humans powers, of a sort. That is how we classify a legendary Pokemon, scientifically. We try to keep it a secret, and considering you don't know, it seems as though we've succeeded. Yveltal obviously found you… interesting enough to bond with you. I wouldn't try to use any powers yet, though. With your bond, you could kill us all."
He strode out of the room, only to shout back, "I'll have a mission for you in two days. Try to get better."
Tobias attempted to stand up, but a sharp pain shot through his chest. He sat down, gasping. "If I'm dead, and I don't need to, why am I still breathing?"
The Nurse answered. "Force of habit, I guess. Your brain still works, so the bit that controls the vital functions presumably still works." She fluffed his pillow and pushed him back. "You're still weak after being dead for a week. Try to rest. Night!"
She left, and Tobias sat there. He found a remote attached to the side of his bed, and pushed one of the buttons on there. A slot opened on the wall, revealing a window. He looked out of it to see a dark expanse. He could see a moon in the sky, and surrounding him were… clouds? He stood up, slowly, and hobbled to the window. He could see clouds gathered around the window, and far below him, lights. He was in an airship! He sat back in bed, and fell into sleep easily.
Little did he know the next day would involve things a lot more stressful than being shot in the chest…
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know it contains a lot of exposition, but it needed to go somewhere, and I may as well let Tobias know. For anyone who's interested, this story is based around the comments from Professor Sycamore in the Y post game, where he mentions you being exposed to YVeltal's energy. In X this makes sense- Xerneas gives off life. But Yveltal should kill you. And thus, this story is born! I hope to update once-a-fortnight, same as my other fics, but don't be surprised if a chapter gets delayed for a week or two. As always, favourite if you enjoy, recommend to others, and please review- they make my day! Au revoir, my readers!