Another weekend, another chapter - here's what happens after Khrista wakes up!

And there's a character redesign thanks to what Cyrus did - you'll find it in the first few paragraphs.

Chapter 5 - New Living Quarters

Khrista's eyes snapped open with a flash of annoyance in them as the loud beeping pounded right into her left ear. She reacted by moving her left arm in order to find the source of the beeping, but found that she couldn't move it. The same went for the rest of her except for her head, which she promptly turned so that she could glare at the source of the beeping - which turned out to be just a speaker, unfortunately.

Fortunately, as soon as Khrista started to glare at it, the beeping stopped, and the room she was in became filled with blessed silence.

At least, until another voice spoke up.

"Good, you're awake."

Khrista turned her head again, and caught sight of a small man with blue hair and glasses standing not too far in front of her and the steel slab she was strapped to.

But it wasn't him that got most of her attention - it was the woman with purple hair and a short black nurse dress. She looked like a Goth version of a Nurse Joy.

"I was starting to wonder if I was just keeping an eye on some dead kid," the woman stated, sounding bored.

It scared Khrista out of her wits, and her eyes widened.

The man with the glasses - Charon, Khrista remembered now - shook his head at the woman's statement. "Really, dearie. You should remember that she came through without a single conforming effect. And I doubt that she is mute." He turned to look directly at Khrista. "How about we let her loose and see if she can do anything, eh?"

Khrista blinked in confusion. Do anything? What's that supposed to mean?

The Goth Joy scoffed. "The kid'll probably try to kill you as soon as I let her loose."

"Oh, I wouldn't be too worried." Charon motioned to something that was on the other side of the alarm speaker, then snapped his fingers.

As the Goth Joy moved to another area of the steel-gray room, another figure stepped out of a shadowy corner and stood stiffly next to Charon, who grinned at Khrista while her eyes widened even further in shock.

"Do you like him?" Charon asked, not bothering to look over at the tall, brown-haired teenage boy standing next to him with a slightly serious face. "He was the first one who came through, and probably the least intelligent, but he has still followed me around like my own personal bodyguard." The grin became crooked. "At least he knows someone important when he sees them."

Khrista couldn't believe her eyes - or the fact that she was staring into the blue ones of a neighbor she almost considered a brother.

Matthew Carlsdale... Khrista swallowed. Oh, man.

There was a creaking noise, and the straps that had been holding Khrista in place opened with a snap. She slid off the slab and rubbed her wrists just to make sure that she actually had circulation going through them. She watched the seventeen-year-old and the scientist warily, hoping that they wouldn't try and attack her.

"Looks like she's a Gentle Nature," Charon noted, pulling a clipboard out of nowhere and wrote something down. "Or maybe Cautious or Timid." He looked up at Matthew. "Do you know her, boy?"

"Yes," Matthew replied.

Khrista shuddered upon hearing his flat voice. And there was something about why Charon was asking that.

"Is she White?"

"No."

The answer came right on the heels of the question.

Charon frowned. "Then what is her name?"

Matthew blinked. "I don't remember."

Charon's frown became so vigorous that his face scrunched up, and he let out a low growl of annoyance.

Khrista backed up a step, her back hitting against the steel slab she had been attached to a moment before. Whatever Charon wanted to get out of Matthew, he definitely wasn't going to get it, and she was getting the feeling that he was going to use it for sinister purposes if he ever did.

Charon turned his attention away from Matthew and gave Khrista what was probably supposed to be a reassuring smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "There, you see? All of them act the same. They don't remember their own names, they don't have very much personality, but they do make very good bodyguards and listeners. I have high hopes that you will be joining them soon."

Khrista swallowed nervously again, then tried to steel herself as Charon went back to writing on his clipboard. Come on, it's not like Matthew can snap your neck or anything. He didn't even break bones in other football players by accident.

Clenching her fists, Khrista stated in a bold voice, "Listen, Knucklehead, I'm not planning on getting turned into one of your goonies."

Charon looked up in surprise. A smile crossed his face. "Ah, she speaks! I was starting to wonder." He blinked, then frowned. "What did you call me?"

Khrista did her best to keep up her bold appearance, but she felt that it was starting to fade fast. "What makes you care?"

"I wouldn't talk to our head scientist like that, kid," Goth Joy sneered, coming back to stand next to Charon. "He can do nasty things to you if he doesn't get what he wants."

"Don't flatter me," the Galactic scientist replied, although he did look very pleased with himself.

Khrista almost completely lost her composure then, and she swallowed again and looked over at Matthew, who stared blankly at the wall in front of him.

This was definitely not a good day.

"However, before I can do anything, I would have to check up with the head of Team Neo-Galactic," Charon spoke again, getting Khrista's attention as he looked over at the woman. "You know what he would say if I didn't."

Goth Joy looked a little nervous. "Right."

Are they talking about Cyrus? Khrista wondered.

Charon returned his attention to Khrista. "Now, considering our present situation with the girl, we'll have to hold off on using her to find White until we have more control over her."

Now Khrista was starting to get irritated. "I'm right here, you know." Under her breath, she added, "Knucklehead."

She had picked up the nickname from a different TV show, and figured it fit this guy fit the name better than the original receiver.

"I know, but you don't warrant my attention until you're more on our side," Charon replied, looking down at his clipboard again. "And judging from the name-calling, I would think that you're not."

Khrista snorted, but shrank back when the Goth Joy took a step forward. The woman took a step back, then, smirking, and Khrista realized that the nurse had tried to intimidate her - and that it had worked.

"Definitely not a Clear Body type," Charon muttered, scribbling something on his clipboard.

Khrista blinked, then frowned. Wait. Is he trying to place me as a Pokemon?

She cautiously took a step forward, only to pause when Matthew's attention suddenly moved from the wall behind Khrista to the girl herself.

"Boy, do you know of anyone who presently does not have a roommate?" Charon inquired as he finished his writing with a flourish.

"One empty room. Subject J-4 is alone." Matthew never took his eyes off Khrista as he spoke.

"J-4?" Charon looked up at the boy. "He has been complacent, although pairing him with someone in a similar situation could cause problems."

He looked at Matthew for a moment longer as though expecting him to reply (which he didn't). Charon then looked over at Khrista. "Grab the girl. We'll take her to the empty room and leave her there for now."

Matthew stepped forward and grabbed Khrista's right arm before dragging her forward. The girl let out a yelp as she nearly lost her footing as Matthew followed the scientist out of the room.

Khrista looked around in confusion as she stumbled out into the hall, looking around in blank confusion at the blank white corridor. How can these guys tell the walls from the floor and ceiling?

Despite the blank corridors, Charon seemed to know his way around the place rather well. He led Matthew - who walked like he was some sort of robot - through the halls and over two warp panels before stopping in front of one of multiple steel doors that lined a dead-end corridor with four warp panels in four different colors on either end of the hall.

Charon opened the door and pushed if open, revealing a steel gray room with two bunk bed against the side walls. On the back wall was what looked like a sink and a toilet, but that was it.

Matthew released Khrista's arm and pushed her into the room; the girl let out a yelp of surprise and stumbled forward a couple steps before regaining her balance and turning around to look at the two figures.

"You will be seeing us soon," Charon said with a grin. A moment later, the steel door slammed shut.

Khrista remained staring at the cell door for a moment longer, then turned around and started looking around at the room itself. She started straight for the all at the back and ran her hand over it.

Cold metal. No cracks. It was the same on the other walls - at least, the parts of the walls she could get to. And even if she could slide her hands behind the bunk beds, there probably wouldn't be any cracks there, either.

Khrista let out an irritated sigh as she moved to the center of the room and put her hands on her hips. "Great. Looks like I won't be able to dig out or anything. Or find some sort of secret passage..."

She shook her head, then looked over at one of the bunk bed sets. A moment later, she was climbing to the upper bunk and lying down on the hard mattress.

"Guess I don't really have anything better to do than sleep," she muttered, turning on her side. "I just hope that it won't mess with me."

Spacial Break

Charon cautiously stepped off the warp panel and stood next to it, watching as the taller, also blue-haired figure looked up from something on his desk.

"Well?" the man asked calmly.

"She isn't conformed, as was predicted," Charon replied. "However, she is much more nervous than what I had originally expected her to be, considering who exactly we are."

"Is there any chance -"

"That she will conform on her own? Perhaps. However, I wouldn't count on it, considering that she seems to have picked up a few things." Charon paused. "Possibly from White herself."

"Explain."

"They're nicknames," Charon stated quickly. "One is centered on me, the other on you. She referred to me as 'Knucklehead' not long after she had awoken, and according to The Boy, she had called you -"

"I know. He told me, as well." The man got to his feet. "Where is she now?"

"Solitary confinement. It was better than putting her with J-4."

The taller figure paused before giving a slight nod of approval. "Good. Leave here there for now. Watch the security cameras and alert me to a time when I may see her myself."

Charon blinked, then gave a nod. "Of course." He gave the man what might have passed as a curious look. "Is there anything else?"

"No. I will inform you if I have need of you."

As Charon stepped out of the office via the warp panel, the man looked out the newly repaired window as he considered what had occurred.

A child who knew two nicknames was not something to be worried about.

It was how she came across them that was another matter...

Well, it looks like there's something going on, all right.

And the kid from the prologue is a boy from Khrista's street - he shows up at the end of the revamped Disney Kingdom story I'm working on posting.

If you can guess how he's related to other characters in my other series - whether it's right or wrong - I'll let you show up in a camo as either a Pokemon or an Avatar! (Just make sure you give me a preference in the reviews for my own notes :).)

And the only reason that's popping up is either to get you guys to read my other stuff or to see if you guys can remember from my other stores. Besides, I want someone else in order to fill out my group.