Sorry 'bout the name change folks, but the story evolved as I wrote, and the name suits it more. There is very little Ethan in this chapter, so the name didn't stick. Anyways, enjoy!
Chapter 5: Of Memories, Forgotten…
I watched with morbid fascination as the Drapion hit Ethan with lethal force, slamming his body into a tree. Ethan fell to the ground, limp, as the Drapion advanced to finish the job. I watched it pick him up, its entire fist closing around him. And I watched, alarmed, as Ethan began to glow. A bright, emerald green light that emanated from somewhere within his body. I watched still as Ethan began to writhe, as if in pain. And still I watched as the Drapion dropped him as one would drop a thorny rose.
He fell to the ground in a crouch, bent over and holding his abdomen. He fell, face first, into the grass, and for a moment, I thought he was dead. But, a huge flash of white light, brighter than anything I had ever seen before, blinded me. Through the white haze, I heard a huge roar. I blinked, clearing my eyes, but even then, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Ethan was gone. And something else was in his place.
Eyes of yellow, an elongated, green, serpentine body covered in red lining. Mysterious, yellow symbols covering the body, a bluish mouth. Rayquaza floated where Ethan had been a moment before. I could not believe my eyes; I must still have been dazzled. He roared again, and I felt the entire forest shake around me. Rayquaza gazed fixedly at the Drapion, fully prepared to return the favour. Yet something held him back. It was Him.
The strange Umbreon walked into the clearing, his eyes seeing everything. When he saw Rayquaza, he smiled. "So, my friend," he mused aloud. "You have found your true power. But yet, you do not know how to use it. Typical, Ethan." He glanced toward me, a strange look in his eyes. And within them, I saw something I never expected to see. I saw Silver, deep within his eyes. Hidden, deep, but there none the less. Silver was the one who had tormented me for so long. Silver was the one who had saved my life, so many times. Silver was the one.
The Drapion looked at Silver with intense hatred, the two knew each other. "You have foiled me for the last time, Forgotten One!" he yelled. Silver didn't reply. He didn't need to. He simply released Ethan from his mental restraints. And all hell broke loose.
Released from his constraints, Ethan released massive amounts of energy from his maw, which passed in waves through the trees, and anything they hit. Several smashed into the Drapion. Silver smirked somewhat. "General, is it not my job to stop you?" he said to the injured Drapion. So General was his name. Or maybe, his title. Flames began to form along Ethan's jaw, seeming like a liquid, they bubbled; fell, almost as if they were saliva. A fireball, larger than my entire body, blasted out, smiting the General in the chest. He fell backward, flames burning along his body, and began to flee. I watched him run, wondering how far he would get before the flames burned him to death. Ironic, that he should be felled by flames.
Ethan began to glow again, a bright emerald green. I closed my eyes, knowing what was coming. Even then, the flash burned through my eyelids, burning a pure, white-blue image onto my retinas. When I opened my eyes, Ethan was normal again. Except for his hand mark, which had changed drastically. It was now a series of glowing green runes, similar to those that appeared on a Rayquaza's body, which scrolled up his arm to his elbow. He looked tired, very tired. He must have used his human energy to power his attacks.
Silver, still in his Umbreon form, walked up to the near fainted Ethan. "So, now you understand," he said. "What Entei gave you. Now, you know what Raiku gave me, and what Suicune gave Lyra. And now, you are one of us!" Ethan shuddered, and fell over, unconscious. I looked at him with slight envy. He was powerful, yet he was VERY different. He wasn't completely human, not anymore. Just what is he now?
I felt anger bubbling to the surface of my being, as I watched Silver stand over Ethan. I felt it pulse through my blood, hammering on my head. I could feel a powerful force gathering all around me. I could feel that I was losing control; that this sheer power was threatening to overwhelm me. My vision seemed red-shifted, everything seemed covered in blood. I had no idea what was happening, yet at the same time it felt strangely familiar. It was as if I had done this before.
A deep growl escaped my throat, surprising me as much as it surprised Silver. He turned towards me, eyes glinting oddly. They seemed purplish, which was very strange since his eyes were yellow. And for the first time, I saw fear in his eyes. I felt my anger intensify, and my eyes seemed to stop working. When my vision returned, Silver was lying near a tree, his flank cut open by a series of cuts. Massive gashes from the tip of his base of his tail to his necks, and from the amount of blood gushing out of them, I knew they were deep.
I managed to regain control of my anger, but it burned brightly just beneath the surface, ready to burn back through my skin, engulf me in angry flames once again. I felt a strange rush of emotions, not quite anger, not quite sadness. Just…..something. I felt memories that were not mine; images forced their way into my head. I felt my mind wrenched from the here and now, and tossed into the past. Pain exploded in my head, spreading through my body faster than a wildfire. But it was not pain, but an acute memory of pain.
I looked through the bars of the cage, staring angrily at two human scientists. I felt hatred inside, far worse than anything I had ever felt before. I looked at myself in a small mirror at the back of the room, looked at the scars covering my body. Permanent reminders of the "experimentation" of the scientists. And I watched in a mixture of horror and amusement as the scars healed over completely, leaving smooth, unbroken skin behind. And then that was covered in fur.
I turned back towards the humans, eyeing one with particular hatred. I didn't know why. He smiled at me, obviously not understanding what I was doing. I resolved to kill him first. The other, I would play with just a little longer. He would experience the pain that I had endured. But he would die eventually. That was set in stone. I looked over to the left, saw the other experiment in his cage. He sat calmly, his red body barely moving. He was, of course, a counter experiment. If I fail, he gets upped to full.
I turned to the right, through a glass wall that separated the lab from the sample containers. Another fancy word for cage. There sat the Lugia, who was anything but calm. He was encased in a large cage, but he was used to flying free. To be trapped was an unknown feeling to him. I felt a mixture of pity and scorn towards him. He was trapped, but he could do something about it. He chose to remain trapped, and therefore, he didn't deserve my pity. When I broke out, he would be left behind. The others would go free, but not him.
The humans went on their brake, leaving the lab somewhat satisfied that their latest experiment had been a success. I watched them leave, and when the door was locked behind them, I made my move. Obliterating the glass between me and freedom with a Hyper Beam, I stepped calmly from the cage, dropping lightly to the floor. I flexed my tired muscles, and stared intently at the only living creature that understood my pain. The Scizor simply shook his head at my stare, before saying plain out that he wanted to be left alone.
I turned from him at once, not wasting any time. I smashed through the larger glass wall, tumbling to the ground several floors below. The fall would have injured any other Pokémon, but my refined skeletal structure, hardened beyond measure, took the fall easily. I rose to my feet, looking straight into the eyes of the Lugia. "You should have tried to escape on your own" I said darkly. "And now, you have no choice." I walked past his cage, into a small cluster of them. All experiments; all used to make me stronger. A small lock mechanism was all that kept them from freedom. I smashed them all, letting the poor things out. They would rampage, giving me the time I needed to escape.
But at that moment, I saw the scientist return to the room. I smirked at them; they were too late to stop my escape. I felt my energy increase, so I capitalised on the opportunity. I fired a Hyper Beam through the lab window, hitting the first scientist dead centre in the face. A massive cloud of blood appeared, and for a moment, I thought I had completely vaporized him. I laughed, somewhat hysterically. This was too easy! They weren't even putting up a fight. I was in such a good mood that I decided to free the Lugia. A Shadow Ball ruptured the cage, shattering the entire thing into tiny pieces.
I snapped myself back to reality, appalled at the images that were coursing through my head. I saw Silver get up, back in his human form. He was seemingly unharmed, but at the same time I felt him weaken. He wasn't fighting me anytime soon. Pity. He looked at me with surprise. "Oh, where did you find this power?" he asked. Still angry, I retorted. "I'm not about to tell you!" He smiled somewhat, before turning away from me. He picked up Ethan, and carried him into the forest. Hazle came up beside me, looking freaked out. Every time I moved she flinched. She must have been watching what happened. I looked into her eyes, and they were different, not the green eyes I knew. They were the eyes of a human scientist I knew from somewhere.
The other scientist rushed to the aid of his superior, and knelt to the ground beside the body. When he rose back to his full height, he turned towards me and smiled. I knew then that I had fallen for some trap. I saw him press a button on the Scizor's cage. The front of the cage opened, and the Scizor stepped out. It almost immediately flung itself towards me, and I knew that they were controlling him. He rammed into me with extreme force, enough to knock a human out, but I weathered the blow, and slammed into him in turn with a Giga Impact. He was flung against the wall with tremendous force. But, like me, he was super strong, and his body took the blow with minimal damage.
He rose to his feet, seemingly unharmed. He began to advance on me, but I had a few more tricks up my sleeve. Due to the scientists' experiments, I was nearly immune to a variety of status effects and move types, and I could use almost every attack known to Pokémon. I lashed out with Blast Burn, flinging the Scizor back into the wall, denting the steel. He was hurt by that attack. His arm, drooping at his side, was broken, and I could see several cuts from the metal. I felt grim satisfaction at the power of my blows. I looked back towards the scientist in the window, and he was looking at me, pleased with his success. No matter that I was escaping, they could start over if they had to.
The specimens that I had freed were rushing towards the only exit from the gigantic lab complex, a massive steel door. I sighed inwardly, and destroyed it in a burst of psychic energy. They ran free. I looked back at my opponent in time to duck under a poorly aimed blow. I had done more damage than I had thought, apparently. I felt a static charge form on my fur, growing more and more powerful with every passing second. When it reached its apex, it shot out, slamming into the Scizor with an insane amount of force, nearly snapping him in two.
He slammed into the wall, bleeding profusely, and I felt a twinge of guilt. But I put the feeling behind me. He was being controlled somehow, but I didn't have the time to find out how. I began to walk out, when a shadow descended around me. I was not afraid, they couldn't harm me. I was too expensive. But I had to escape, so I sprinted towards the open door. But still, I was not fast enough. A robotic capture system drone descended from the roof, slamming into the ground in front of me. I was too late.
I forced my mind to return to reality, not comprehending the images in my head. Hazle was looking at me with concern; Null just behind her was looking at me fearfully. I felt several more pairs of eyes on me, and I turned to see Silver leaning against a tree, with a teenage girl standing beside him. She was looking at me with mild interest, not knowing what was going on in my brain. She said something to Silver, who nodded. I noticed that he was leaning on the tree because he was weak, not to look cool. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was holding his side. I noticed that his right arm was completely covered, everything beneath a long sleeve that was missing from his left side. He was even wearing a glove. The girl was wearing similar garments.
I noticed a taller man behind the two, also leaning on a tree. His eyes were fixed on me, and I could tell that he knew me from somewhere. He was dressed all in red, with spiky black hair. He looked at me with a strange look, somewhere between hatred and grudging respect. He definitely knew me. I felt uncomfortable under his gaze, and thankfully, he walked away. I knew that he would cross paths with me again.
I felt my anger burning its way to the surface again, and I had to actively fight it. That troubled me. Was I made to destroy? I thought to myself. I shook my head, trying to clear it, when another round of images assailed my consciousness.
I was back in the cage, the robot had caught me. The scientist still alive made sure that I was sedated at all times. He laughed at me often, but strangely enough, he praised me at other times. I didn't understand; it was like he wanted me to kill his partner. He seemed to warm to me, but I couldn't say that the feeling was mutual. He tormented me; he would get what was coming to him. But over time, I felt myself come to like him. I still harboured resentment over being captive, but I began to feel as if the scientist were a friend. And when the lab boss came to pay a visit, it turned out that he was.
The overly large man had stormed into the room, smashing into equipment and tools that were important; they were used to keep me alive during experimentation. The scientist had tried to stop the man, and been rewarded with a kick in the shin. I felt angry that the human was being abused by his superior; no one had the right to hurt him but me. I growled deep in my throat, snarling at the balding, obese man that was endangering my life. He looked at me with a smirk. "Watcha gonna do? Gonna 'scape an come git me?" He started to laugh maniacally. He smacked the scientist in the face. "Git yur beast ter calm down! He's gonna hurt muh ears!" The scientist smiled darkly.
"That, sir," he said. "Is exactly what I want to happen. And more!" The balding man looked at me confused, and I saw the scientist press a button from the corner of my eye. The cage door opened, and once again I was free. I jumped onto the man's face, scratching it repeatedly, before running through the open door to freedom. I ran down the sterile, white-wash hallway, startling several lab technicians, before jumping out a low window onto the specimen containment floor. They still hadn't fixed the door, so it was my best bet at escape. As I turned a corner into the atrium, however, I saw a veritable army of experiments waiting for me.
They were wearing strange metal collars around their necks, which I assumed was a secondary project in the lab complex. Their eyes were reddish, no matter what their natural colours were, so I assumed it was something to do with the head. Mind control devices. They charged me, something they definitely would not have done under normal circumstances, so I knew someone was messing around in their heads. I frowned, not wanting to fight them, but I had little choice.
The first to reach me was a Rattata, and I knocked him to the side with a body slam. The second, an Arbok, was knocked out by a Flamethrower attack. I saw a Croconaw from the corner of my eye, he had been using his team-mates as distractions to get off a good shot. I turned toward him as he launched a water attack of some kind. I dodged to the side, and lashed out with Thunder. The poor thing was slammed against the steel wall forty-feet away with a sickening crunch. I had more than likely broke half the bones in his body, if not more. I didn't let regret get the better of me, however, and I turned back towards the mob of Pokémon still standing.
I dodged several more blows, and returned several more, and before I knew it, the mob had thinned to one. An uninteresting Shinx. I didn't want to hurt him, he was young, but at the same time, I had to escape. He looked at me, unafraid, but he made no move to attack. A waiting game ensued. By the time I figured out that he was playing me for a sucker, it was to late. Another robot descended from the ceiling, paralyzing me with a sedative. The last thing I saw was the Shinx smirking at me. And then everything went black.
For a moment, I forgot where I was. For the first time, the memories had ended before I could pull out. I didn't know what that signified, but it couldn't be good. "If you die in a dream….." I mused. I heard a loud thump from somewhere behind Silver, and then a cry of pain. Silver turned, and limped into the forest. The girl stayed to watch. I heard many, many curses from behind her, and I could only assume that Ethan had woken up. The girl flinched slightly, and grasped her arm almost reflexively. She pulled the glove off, revealing a blue mark. Blue marks. A series of blue runes etched into her skin, trailing their way up her arm. I knew that they went to the elbow. And they reminded me of a certain blue Pokémon…
Is Tal going crazy? Pfft, like I'd tell you! Wait, maybe I should tell you... No, I'l leave that to later Chapters. As always, pls review!