...

-SKREEE!- My eyes snapped open as I bolted up into sitting position. I spun around to look at the door and spotted a familiar sight! Two guards and a human in a long white coat! However, it wasn't the woman. The one standing in the doorway was a man of unmistakable old age.

He had this look to him that seemed both scrawny and yet tough with that lithe yet tall body of his. He was as tall, if not taller than the guards beside him. He had grey hair tied back in a knot with a beard that could make a mamoswine jealous with it's length and fullness. Dented up and scraggly as it was, though, maybe not. I didn't like that face either and not just because it was old and withered. He had yellow, pidgeotto eyes as sharp as they come, but weary with circles that seemed to be from long, restless nights. His eyebrows didn't look well groomed. Maybe that was the face of a man that didn't care about himself, anymore.

He wore a brown full-body, wrinkled suit under it all, complete with built in boots and black, latex gloves. ...It's called a Jumpsuit...? Where do you humans get these names? That one doesn't even make sense to me.

...Did he have a hunched back? No. That was the stiffest back I'd ever seen. Honestly, it looked like he had a board of wood where a back should be.

I immediately snapped my head to the side to find Aria, who started speaking that second with a glare in her eyes directed at that man from where she sat. [What do you want?! Why can't you people just leave us alone?!]

Turning to look back at the man with the same sort of glare, I noticed that he seemed mildly intrigued by her speaking their language, but I still had no idea what she said to him. He had raised his brows and tilted his head. [My, but if you veren't a Meloetta, I'd svear you vere a human being. You even haff our hands.]

She looked at her hands with a nervous glare, then threw them back down to her sides in fists with a grunt of anger! [Shut up! They're my hands, not a human's!]

The man sat there for a moment before he took a deep breath and then let it out with a calm sigh as he let his eyes close, then gestured to the guards in a dismissive wave. [Leave us for ze moment. I vant time with our ... Gäste. Vait for us outside.]

Still no idea what he said at the time, but it made the masked guards look at each other, then walk away, out of the room, which made me raise a brow out of suspicion. {I can't use intimidation. I shall keep to my vord.} A thought accompanied by a cooled and cautious feeling. I blinked when I realized it came from him.

Aria spoke, [What? trying to-] But, I cut her off by saying, "Wait." I turned to face her as she turned her head to look at me with a confused stare, blinking before a brow went up. "What, Ralina? This isn't a great time." {We might be in a lot of trouble.}

I thought for a moment, then I put a hand to my temple. {I saw his thoughts. He thought about something like... I didn't really understand it right, but I think he said 'I shall keep my word.' ... What does that mean?}

She gave me this weird look. "... I still don't understand how you can read a mind that should be speaking in another language to you." I gave an honest shrug. It seems that no matter what mind I'm reading, I'll always be able to understand it's thoughts. Maybe I'm using it's own knowledge as an add-on to mine so that I can understand it. That's how I think about that, anyway.

Whatever the case, she turned her head back to him as she folded her arms. [What does 'I shall keep my word' mean to you?]

With how his eyes grew wider for a moment, it definitely took him by surprise. [My my, but is vould seem zhere is no hiding anys'hing from your friend here. Most intriguing to see such a young ralts vith zhe gift of Gedankenlesen.] {... I will have to... ... ...}

Suddenly, I couldn't read anything but his attempt at concealing a feeling like being hot. I blinked in confusion and then focused harder. Nothing. And just like that, my ability to read his mind went out the window, which made me sweat. Without that, I might as well be deaf. I now had no way of knowing the conversation. "I can't read him anymore...!"

My friend turned to me in surprise, but it didn't take long to refocus her glare into that man. [Why and how'd you just shut her out? If you're hear to talk with US, then why not let her in? She can't understand this language.]

[Because you can listen just as vell as you can interpret. I am no fool as to let one into my head. I am zhis facility's head, after all.] He seemed neutral about that, all things considered.

Aria seemed to take that with a large amount of surprise, her glare turning clearly hostile. [YOU?! You're the one that came up with all this?! Are you also the one that told YOUR people to steal a little girl and her mother from their home?!]

And then his eyes seemed to shine a bit as he turned his head to look directly at me... smiling.

I couldn't help but feel lost and afraid of why he was smiling. At this point, I might as well be cold as a brick. I was scared and had no idea what had brought that on.

Then, he spoke... [Vell, now. So, you are zhe daughter of zhe civilized Gardevoir zhat constantly scorned me.]

I just stared. It... affects me more now, since I only know what he said back then from what I have learned after the fact. However, back then, I just felt incredibly lost. A nervous twitch told me to back away, so I did.

Aria stepped in front of me, much to my surprise. She glared him down. [Touch her and I don't care what the walls do to me.]

He took quite a heavy sigh as she said that, shaking his head with a frown. [Zhis is not vhat I came here for. Ve keep avoiding zhe point.]

She turned her head a bit from him, but kept her eyes on his face as she raised a brow. [Then you HAVE a point? News to me.]

He didn't like that, evident by the groan and temporary glare right back. He eased his eyes until they closed... then slowly opened them again, a relaxed stare replacing the anger. [Please, Listen as an old man speaks, o-kay? I haff come in peace zhis day. Zhe voman zhat visited you both 12 hours ago has pleaded with me to... not... use zhe two of you as subjects. I am very reluctant to say zhat zhis is my hope as vell, but zhat I may still need to, as older subjects continue to fail...]

The meloetta tightened her fists and I could see that she was trembling. With what? I don't know. The emotion felt like anger, maybe... but also something subtly cold and dark.[...You have a minute to explain what you're doing with our fellow pokemon... My immediate answer is no, either way.]

He furrowed his brows, which was weird for me to see since his face was one of natural intimidation. [Ve haff been hitting zhis same wall for a long few years, you see. Ve haff been purposely using only older pokemon, opposing preference of young ones. It is, as ve say, inhumane.] The furrow was gone after he blinked, then he turned his back to us as his lab coat fwipped behind him. [Zhe research ve are studying and progressing is zhe relation between human and pokemon DNA. More specifically, how zhat relation can be used to save lives on both sides. Mayhap, even give expiring ones zhe chance at life zhey couldn't haff othervise gotten chance at. Ve know vell zhat zhe result of zhis vill still yield... oddities. Transfiguration, mutations, changes. Zhe process is not a simple one and, so far, not a painless one. However, it can and Vill save more zhan a few- more zhan MANY lives in zhe future. Zhis may even become part of many humans and pokemon one day, as zhe process is capable of curing- nien... completely nullifying a multitude of illnesses and even benefiting ozher causes.]

All of that was promising and good and really SPECTACULAR... but well, Aria wasn't much less unwilling. I had no say, being I had no idea what any of that meant. Whatever the case, the meloetta eased up and got out of his way of me. [Go on, but don't try anything. And hang on a second.] She turned her head to me, simply saying, "I'm humoring this guy, for now. I'll tell you everything he says later, but for now? Just know that he's not taking either one of us, yet. He'll avoid us for a while, from what I have been told, and I'm guessing any other child stage pokemon, too. Though, it's not willingly and that won't last forever."

I couldn't help but feel very uneasy about how little that actually told me. So, let's summary: we were going to be held here for who knows how long until they just exhaust every other possible candidate for whatever they were doing to pokemon there. I knew nothing about the cause or the advances that could have been made back then, just that little gnawing bit of information that made me feel guilty. VERY guilty.

Aria turned back to him while I turned my back to her, even as she spoke to the human. [So, in short, you want us for what we could give you. You want what could possibly only be given to you by using a child stage test subject and you think that one of us could be the alleged subjects you're looking for. But there are still a load of things I don't get. I'm still on the "No" option, so...] She spun her hand a bit, face bored with laxness. [Go on. I know you want to.]

And the man turned around and smiled, bowing out of... I don't really know. Respect, I guess. [Zhat you are even humoring me exceeds my hopes.]

So, he went on while Aria folded her arms. I could see her thinking, {I've heard humans try to justify causes, but this guy really seems to believe in his cause. What the hell? Whatever. The "good doctor" better know I'm not making this possible.}

Dropping the smile, the human straightened his posture and started talking again. [I am not going to front you vith false pretense of being clean of sin, but I vill haff you know zhat by no means do I intend to stop after all zhe blood zhat's spilled upon our hands. I von't halt any of it. Not after ve haff spent 5 years of our own lives on zhis singular goal. And I personally stack 11700 years atop my back for my failures. Do zhe math. 117 failures. Maybe more, if zhere were pokemon zhat lived over 100. Do you zhink I can stop with that much overwhelming guilt on my conscience? I don't zhink so. Because one such life I haff lost already... zhe life I started out trying to save is already gone.]

Aria's glare broke when she heard what she did, barely letting out a grunt as if she'd been struck.

I wasn't so lost in my thoughts yet that I didn't hear that. I turned to see what that was about, then accidentally read into what was going on in her head. {Already dead? What? Then, you're true reason is gone, so why are you still doing this? Why so many dead for a cause that's not even there anymore?}

She squinted at him as if he were crazy. [What kind of guy keeps pursuing the same thing when they already lost what got them going?]

[... Zhere vas a man who did zhe same for zhe same reason. His exploits are what made me realize zhis vas possible. Vhile he did not succeed in saving zhe one he held dear, much zhe same of me, he created a pokemon zhat vas immune to disease and powerful beyond belief. And vhile I haff no interest in zhe prospect of power, it vas a byproduct of vhat he accomplished... by shear mistake. He could haff vell done it. He could haff saved his beloved. But just like myself, he vas too slow... He retired to a life avay from zhe science zhat dealt vith genetics and went on to lead a life simply studying zhe behavior of you pokemon...] He clasped his hands together as his eyes shut and took a breath, before continuing. [It could haff ended zhe same for me. But I had a realization. If I stopped, more vould die from zhe very zhings I first strove to help my dear Colette conquer. 5 years long zhis road has been. However, zhey haff been of progress. Yet, as stated before, I fear I can no longer gain substantial progress using older subjects. I haff had to come to terms with zhe fact zhat zhere is only one vay to continue forward from zhis point on... vith zhe interest of preserving as many lives as possible, zhat is. Use a young subject. A child stage subject. I considered using an... egg... but, zhat vould not yield zhe result I'm looking for. It would simply be creating a new species. It must be zhis vay.]

With all the man had said, only a stone wouldn't have been affected. A stone Aria was not. The uneasy furrow in her brow seemed to hammer in the fact that she felt for this man or at least felt where he was coming from. {...I can't believe I'm humor such thoughts. If what he said is all true, then maybe I should be the one.} A feeling of cold and dark...

That was a thought I couldn't stomach. I felt choked as I realized that meant she might try something very stupid, all because of what that man said. My eyes were wide and lips dry over fear of the possibility she might say yes. That meant I might never see her again if she did... and I'd grown very attached to her. Aria was my only friend in that place. I survived with my mind in tact that long, because I had her. If she was gone... that was it. I might lose it...

She instead said something that I know lied about what she really thought, but not at that time. [I'm sorry. No is still my answer.]

He remained frowning and clenched his hands tight to one another... before relaxing them and sighing. [...I understand... However, I can not simply free you from zhis cell, unless you comply. I shall give you time to reconsider.] He reached into a coat pocket and placed a small device on the ground. It was simple in design. Circular. Had one red button. It's use wasn't apparent to me, then. [Use zhis to call for me, if you change your mind. I vould hope for a sooner answer, but am fully prepared to wait.]

And then, he turned away and walked slowly out of the room. I watched him go, even as the door skree'd deafeningly in my ears and shut tight. Then, I turned to look at my friend, whom had already bent down to pick up the device.

As she brought it up off the ground in her fingers, it looked bigger and heavier, the size difference of her's to the man's a striking contrast. She stood there with a deep and lost expression on her face, eyes dull. {This is it... I've got to keep this close.. and... I have to be every bit willing to save everyone that I can, even if the prospect terrifies me... I have to do this... For Ralina most of all...} I knew it well. She'd sacrifice her self as a Meloetta... and possibly sacrificing herself in general, if they once again failed. Scared... I realized that was the emotion that registered from cold and dark. That feeling was still radiating off of her body...

I pretty much decided it, at that point. I wasn't about to let her do that... I don't think she ever realized I had read her mind. She was too fixated on the thing she had to do.

...Yeah, I wish she would have fallen asleep, that night... or day... whichever it had been it that dark place.

I sat across the room from her and watch her with a frown. Aria was up and just staring at that big red button like it had her under a spell, silent but very much awake. She'd even forgotten to directly tell me what had been said. Or maybe she was trying to keep it to herself. She didn't do a good job. I still had every word he said from her thoughts... and the true gravity of the situation proved my suspicions. I knew that I HAD to stop her. ...And the only way that was happening was if I knocked her out.

My mind was set. I got up onto my feet and walked my way over to her. It felt like it took an eternity just to walk the distance. I remember just how silent my mind had been in that moment. The only thing on my mind was what I had to do.

Only when I was right there in front of her did she ever blink and look at me, putting on this fake smile to cover up the fact that she was having a hard time. She stood up as she looked down at me and asked, "Sorry, Ralina. How long have you been standing there?"

I could hardly believe how long it took me to think this over... nor how long it took for her to raise a brow when she realized I was acting strange. "Ralina?"

...The next moment was quick. I didn't think I could put that much force or speed into anything. I smiled and said, "It's nothing." Then, I turned around and made as if I was taking a step away as she went to respond... only for me to turn on her quickly as my arm whipped out, wrist meeting hard with her head... I saw the look of panic wide in her eyes right before I hit and then watched as she crumpled to the floor in a heap, the button rolling from her hand all the way to the corner of the room...

It was a long moment of silence while I just stood there, looking down at my friend's face, eyes closed and mouth open as she laid there, unconscious... I could feel wetness run down my cheek. Of course I was scared, but it scared me more to think about never seeing her again... It's funny how you bond with someone so quickly when all you've got to share with each other is one small room, a few long conversations, some terrible food and each other.

As I walk away from her fallen body, I constantly wished that we were anywhere else. The fantasy of going back to my forest would have been perfect. Maybe even the one where we found Mallory's crystallized clearing. That would have been nice, too...

I knelt down and picked up the button with both of my hands, then stood up, looking at it. No one was stopping me but myself for the last few moments I just eyed the button. Aria was definitely out cold if she never got up after such a long few minutes. My mother must have been asleep, because she definitely would have tried to talk sense into me then if she wasn't. I didn't want to lose her, either. I was also reminded of how many pokemon I saw in the cages with us on the ride here. Every one of them was older than me, I bet. That meant that all of them could die to the experiments...

As I kept thinking of those sorts of things, I realized that I had many reasons to do what I did. For those reasons, I lifted my hand, finally, and pushed the button down with a click. It lit up lightly, then proceeded to flash for every second...