I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry. I had a lot of trouble with this chapter, there was a lot riding on it, that I let it take a backseat. Where have I been? Writing other stories and I'm in the process of editing/improving the old chapters to make them more realistic. I've been working on the earlier chapters mostly, but I could never leave this story! Anyway, here's a summary: Nova and the gang just fought a mining expedition from the infamous Team Magna, who have risen to power after being underground for twenty years. During the battle, Nova evolved in Flareon and after getting back, Sam gets a call from Professor Oak saying that Nova has to come in for a few days. Nova flips out...and that's where we left off!

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Chapter 36: Homecoming

Gold watched idly from his own Pokéball into Nova's as she paced and raged and eventually tired herself out and fell asleep. Whatever was going on with her, he was going to get to the bottom of the problem, that he was sure of. If Sam was sure bringing her back to the place she was from, then that was the best thing they could do (although he'd much rather they all went on a training trip in the mountains or trained in a dojo during their break).

Eventually, he was released from his Pokéball.

Sam and the Professor were talking in hushed tones while the Professor brought them into a lab. It was a chilly room with a small pen in the center and a lot of machines and no windows. On the side were cages like ones you would see in a pound. The whole thing left Gold with an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.

Sam must have seen his Sandshrew's expression because he crouched down to his height with determined eyes, explained. "Gold, Nova might be having some problems so Professor Oak is going to check for us. So matter what, we have to be strong, for her, and listen to what the professor tells us. I'm keeping Poison in his Pokéball because…" Sam shook his head a little. The poison Pokémon was prone to ruling with his emotions more than anything else. With his close friendship with Nova, he was a wild card in the situation. "We'll be back on the road in a few days, and until then, don't judge Nova for anything she does, she's disoriented." Sam bit his lip, only for an instant letting on how scared he was. Gold clenched his fists tight and gave a single, rigid nod. Still, he could not be sure he wouldn't still take Nova's side, even if it wasn't good for her. So his momentary compliance wasn't a promise and Sam seemed to understand that.

"Alright Sam, release Flareon—Nova—into this cage. She isn't going to react well to be moved, we can't be sure what she might do." The Professor said gently and Sam moved up to the cage, his eyes bright with resolution.

"Nova, go." His words were a plea. A struggling mass of fur appeared in the cage, immediately slamming her shoulder into the side of the cage with brutal force. Professor Oak worked fast, releasing a long spray of something into the cage's opening. In a few seconds, Nova had slumped down to the bottom of the cage, sound asleep.

Sam raised his protest as Oak removed her and set her in the pen.

"Don't worry— I used a medicine of my own creation, Unawakening. I have to run a few tests to make sure she's alright and I'm worried she'll hurt herself."

"Don't you mean 'find out what's wrong'?" Sam corrected.

"Right, yes. I think it's the change in nature following her evolution but I won't know until I conduct the experiments. It's nothing scary, I assure you, the same tests they would conduct at a Pokémon Center."

"Oh, alright." Sam's eyes softened.

"Now, I'll have you and your sandshrew wait in the foyer."

"No way, I want to be here." Sam protested again. Gold piped in with the same sentiment.

"The more people here, the more stress that will be on her. Go on, I'll let you know as soon as she's done." He assured them, pushing them out the door and sighing in relief before turning back to the Flareon.

My eyes were strangely heavy and it took a few seconds before I could even convince my body that I wanted them open in the first place. As I slowly came too, the sensation of cold melting through my thick fur disturbed me. I felt like I was truly coherent for the first time in many hours, which was strange because everything in my brain was moving sluggishly. It took me almost a full minute to realized that the person I was looking up at blearily was Professor Oak. The events of the past day came flooding back into me, jarring my heart with panic.

I could only manage feebly moving my paws as his hands continued whatever he was doing.

"Oh, Flareon, you're awake." He said, adjusting the IV taped to my leg. It twitched slightly. "I did the most uncomfortable tests while you were out, so if you're feeling nauseous, that's why."

I didn't feel nauseous, at least any more than caused by seeing the professor's face and being back under his control. Where were Sam and Gold?

He messed with some electrodes I didn't realize were on my head. "I don't know why you evolved, especially with that stone…I gave you a diluted dose of it to see if it had any reaction, it was off the charts but only for a few moments. So I couldn't get any more information. Luckily, I came up with something clever to tell Sam. He's a nice kid, you've been lucky so far to stay with him."

I jerked again, pulling at my IV. He quickly grabbed my leg to make sure it wasn't ripped out. "Don't be so impatient, Flareon. You're still too drugged to stand." I still squirmed in protest.

"I guess that's all I'll get out of you, huh?" Professor Oak grumbled, unhooking the IV and bandaging my leg. He picked me up with a little difficulty as I struggled weakly in his arms and carried me out to the foyer. Damn you, let me go!

I struggled as best as I could with my barely-responding limbs before I realized I was being placed in Sam's lap, or half on his lap, half on the couch, I was too big to fit on his lap anymore. I blinked in surprise, releasing my warning grip on Oak's arm. My head swam a little as the professor backed off. Then he disappeared and I the gentle feeling of Sam's warm hand through my fur coaxed me into a relaxation, the edge of stress starting to melt away.

This was the room where I met Sam wasn't it? I planned on leaving him once we left the laboratory. Things turned out so differently than what I expected.

I didn't have a good concept of time so anywhere between a few minutes to a half hour could have passed before I realized something was right in front of my face. Something yellow, with annoying, giant eyes that were way too big and an annoying expression on its face—

"Gold," I said, sleepily lifting my head to look at the now-slightly smaller Pokémon.

He bonked me on the head and a few moments elapsed before I whined in complaint.

"What was all that?" He asked gesturing to everything.

"I don't like it here. I don't want to be here. We should go." I was more aware now, and a new shard of fear pulled at my heart as I admitted this, as if I were barely restraining a dam of emotion.

He grabbed my face, holding it up. I leveled a stare back at him but felt uncertain at his intensity. "No, what was wrong with you. You attacked. You were crazy."

Another clench twisted my heart, this time with guilt—as that particular memory came back. A sliding door opened and shut and Nova pricked her ears up, grogginess pushed out from her body. For the first time in her life, she was free inside Professor Oak's lab. She could do what she wanted. She jumped into a graceless pile on the ground before scrambling back up and hurrying to the sliding door.

"Nova, what?" Sam called uncertainly as Gold jumped down and followed her.

"What are we doing?" He asked, easily catching up with her. Her heart skipped a beat as the glass door opened for them. They entered a giant pasture, acres wide with fences on all sides, fifteen feet tall covered with netting. All the Professor's Pokémon and Pokémon belonging to the Kanto Trainers.

Gold was speechless beside me. She could understand his awe—this was the largest captured Pokémon pasture in Kanto. There were environments for almost every type of Pokémon and they were all taken care of—at least until they were brought into the dark recesses of his labs, like what had been done to me.

Still, I knew the exact way I had been taken away from my family. I set out on the path near the river. Gold at my side, watching Pokémon sun themselves or play in the water.

"This is where you grew up?" He asked finally.

"Kind of, yeah," I told him quietly. I was fully convinced he'd stay quiet for the rest of the journey, maybe even part ways to explore as he loved to do, but instead, he looked at me with a disgruntled expression on his face.

"Rusty, use your words."

"My…my words?" I looked at him. I was using my words, wasn't I?

"Explain. You didn't before. Why did ya freak out? It was really…disturbing, ya know."

"Hn. I don't really remember all I did but I'm sorry." He looked at me again and I continued. I realized with irrigation that he was doing the same thing I did to him when we were trying to find his family. "I don't have many—well any, really good memories from here."

"With your family?"

"Well, except them. I wasn't kept out here for very long though." I stopped carefully in front of a burrow. It smelled so much like her. "We're here." Chills ran through my spine as I realized until just now, I had forgotten her scent. I barked a few times and waited, adrenaline flooding my nerves.

It only took a few seconds before a lithe, green dappled body nosed her way out of the burrow. My body tensed as I saw the Leafeon's neutral expression change into astonishment and in an instant, I was bowled over into the grass, Gold moving back in surprise. I felt a rough tongue licking the fur on my face and rumbled happily as the sensation brought back moments from the burrow that I'd forgotten and replaced with the fear and isolation of the lab.

"M-Mom!" I gasped, delighted. The Leafeon pulled back, tears shimmering in her bright brown eyes. I pulled myself to my feet and looked at her. She was beautiful, her coat was bright and she had lean muscles and keen eyes of a strong and experienced Pokemon.

"My little Eevee." She murmured gently. "I never knew what became of you. Oak promised me you were okay but he would never let me inside…"

"I'm fine, Mom. My name's Nova now." I said, my voice thick with emotion. "I have a trainer now. This is my teammate, Gold."

"Nova! Oh, and hello, Gold. I'm Dusty!" My mom greeted. Gold turned to me incredulously, not replying to my mom—Dusty.

"You never told me your mom's name was Dusty, when I call you Rusty? Isn't that kind of a coincidence?"

I blushed. "It never came up." I explained vaguely. Gold was by no means stupid and his charcoal glare shared he knew that he knew something was wrong. That me, myself didn't know what my mom's name was. Everything about her and her siblings and my life before the lab was strangely hazy.

My mother came up to nuzzle me again. "And you look so strong now—you're a Flareon. Your siblings were adopted by humans not two months ago. Most of them will still be Eevee. You've grown…"

"Nova's mom?" Gold grabbed her attention yet again.

"Yes, young Sandshrew?" She asked, tilting her head gently, twitching her large, leafy ears. "When did Nova leave your den? Before 'er littermates?"

I twitched my ears with annoyance. Gold knew he wasn't getting any straight answers from her so he was going straight to the source.

Dusty's eyes clouded a little bit in thought. "Oh, I did say something about that, didn't I?" She scrunched her nose in concentration. "It was when she was one or two months old when she left. Hmm…something happened?"

I felt my gut clench in horror. I thought that I couldn't remember the events because I was too young or it was unclear because of the emotional trauma as a pup but if my own mom didn't know what happened either…

Gold's eyes flashed to me again. He knew something was amiss too.

Suddenly, Dusty's eyes regained their clarity. "None of that matters anymore because you're back! Let's not dwell on sad things! Nova, do you mind if I talk to you for a few minutes?" She asked gently.

"Of course not," I mumbled, flicking my tail at Gold, who was lost in thought before heading down into the burrow. I was hit by scents of my childhood—even stale, indecipherable smells that must have been my littermates. I pushed aside the feeling of dread and followed my mother further into the den.

Professor Oak sat down with a heavy sigh. He'd gotten some good data from Flareon, data he'd sent back to headquarters. Whereas the Eevee who had left a month and a half ago had been scared into compliance, this new Flareon had grown head-strong and determined. He knew he was toeing the line between getting the information he needed for the sake of the lab and causing Sam to be concerned and suspicious. He had had no choice, however. For his lab. For Pallet Town.

He ran his hands across his weathered face and breathed in, thinking about the rage and fear he had put in that Pokémon. How he had had to treat her in order to work to decode the incredibly unstable DNA that had caused Flareon to show her father's pre-evolved coat color as an eevee. And now, she had evolved without a firestone; becoming a fire-type and taking after her father yet again. He took another deep breath, steeling himself and picked up the phone.

"Hello? This is codename Okiboku. I need to speak to Mr. Maimas."

"Copy, Okiboku." The voice on the other side came, followed by a familiar chant. "May the sky and sun always fear the ground in its Magnitude!"

A decent cliffhanger? I actually don't have any of my notes at school with me so I had to follow this arc by memory but I'll be home again in a couple weeks to work on the next chapter. Please review, let me know what you think about this turn of events.