Chapter 3: Changes

Maggie had returned to Kanto, and swore off battling. She fell into a depression, still unsure of what to do with Ferrovax. Or, whatever people were calling him, these days. She curled up on the sofa and sighed, wishing everything would just suddenly get better. Her thoughts were interrupted, by a knock at the door.

She trudged to the door, to be greeted by a short man in a business suit. He had messy brown hair and a short, close-cut beard. His nose was round, and his hazel eyes were covered by thick, round glasses. He certainly wasn't anybody she had ever seen, at the daycare.

"Good evening. Is this the residence of Maggie Myers?" he asked, his tone warm and friendly.

"Who's asking?" she said, wary.

"My name is Dr. Stephen Porter." He smiled, stretching a hand out to greet hers. "I've heard a great deal about you, and your Pokemon. You've made quite a reputation!" he beamed. "I'm from a research organization that's very interested in some of your Pokemon, particularly your Nidoking. We know it's a longshot, but if you would be interested in letting us borrow your Pokemon, it could be extremely beneficial to our research."

Maggie blinked, taken aback by his statement. What would scientists want with her Pokemon? What could they possibly learn from them, that they couldn't learn from even stronger Pokemon?

"What kind of research?" she asked, skeptical.

"That's classified, but I can tell you that we're studying exactly what makes certain Pokemon stronger than others." He smiled. "I assure you, it's for a good cause."

"No deal." Maggie said. She didn't trust this man, one bit. She slammed the door in his face, and went on about her business. Though, the thought still lingered in her mind. Who were these people? Why her Pokemon, and not somebody else's? She shook her head, and went on to make a pot of tea.

Her Gliscor, however, had other ideas. Lasciel had heard the conversation, and decided she could give the man at least one Pokemon. One Pokemon she had grown close to, very close, and wanted to save. She grabbed Ferrovax's Poke Ball, and rushed outside before the man left. She grabbed his jacket with her claw, and pulled him back. He was so small and wimpy, she almost made him topple over.

She let out a soft growl, as the man turned. She held up the ball, and gave him a concerned expression.

Porter nodded, and accepted her offer. "Don't worry." He smiled, warmly. "We'll take good care of him."

Lasciel's ears drooped as she watched the stranger drive off, with her mate. She didn't know what they would do to him, but surely it was a fate better than the one he was doomed to, here. Maybe he would have a better life, with them. A chance at survival. She sighed, and headed back inside. No matter what, he was better off, now.

At least, that's what she'd like to think.

The dragon's eyes shot open. He was disoriented, and in a strange place. He was hooked up to wires and machines, and being jabbed with needles. He growled and hissed, but was too drowsy to do much more. He heard voices, though they sounded muffled.

"…Told you to get the Nidoking." One man said. "Not this…beast." He gestured to Ferrovax.

The drugs were wearing off. Ferrovax growled and roared, as he attempted to free himself from the wires.

"She won't give him up. Can you blame her? The bond between a Pokemon and a trainer is an amazing thing. If I had a friend like that, I certainly wouldn't give them to some stranger, claiming it was for scientific research." Porter said.

"Hm." The other man grunted. He was a thin and lanky looking man, who looked to be in his fifties. He wore a loose lab coat, and half-bridged glasses. He watched as the dragon continued to roar and thrash, waiting for him to tire himself out.

Ferrovax slammed against the glass wall, again and again. He roared ferociously, blasted fire and Dragon Pulses at it, until he finally grew too tired. He growled softly, as he slumped against the glass.

"Get him fully restrained." The scientist said. "Again." He added, annoyed. "Make sure he can't get free, this time. We can't have anything go wrong, during the transformation."

Transformation? What are they doing? He growled as the scientists began to restrain him once more, and poke and prod him with needles and connecting more wires to him. Finally, they left him alone. Good riddance. The room was quiet, and there was a group of people watching from the other side of the glass. What were they looking at?

Suddenly, there was pain. Oh, god. The pain. He roared in agony, as lights danced across his vision. He held his eyes tightly shut, but the lights still seemed to blind him. The flash of white then turned to black. Everything went black and quiet and cold. He hurt so bad, he felt numb. Was he dead? No. He could still hear voices. They were just a buzz of muffled sounds, but at least it was enough for him to know he was still alive. Barely.

The light in the room was almost blinding. He winced in pain, and tried to move forward to give those scientists the what-for. He took one step, and...Wait. Step?

This wasn't the movement he was used to. He fell on his hands and knees, the impact of which sent a shock of pain coursing through his body. "What… did you do to me?" he said in a quiet, but deep, growling voice. He also seemed to have a thick British accent. That was new. He had never heard that come out of his mouth, before. "What's going on?" he thought, unable to speak the words. He was tired. He hurt. The light and voices made his head scream. He finally collapsed to the floor, his body unable to endure anymore pain.

He awoke in a room. The lights were still too bright, and he winced the moment his eyes cracked open. He instinctively moved his hand to shield his face, and….wait a minute. Hand? He stared at the appendage attached to him, and wiggled his fingers. Curious things, hands were. But why was there a hand, attached to him?

He sat up, a bad idea as his head immediately screamed at him. "Nngh!" he growled, holding his throbbing head. After it had settled enough for him to continue assessing his situation, he noticed something else. He had hair. He ran his hands through his hair; another new sensation. He had hands, hair…feet…clothes… "Bloody hell…" he whispered. A voice. Another new thing, he had.

He was interrupted by the sound of the door hissing open.

"Ah, you're awake." The man said. It looked like the same man he saw, just before that flash of pain and bright lights. "We were beginning to get worried. You're the first success, after all." He said, jotting something down on his tablet.

"What did you do, to me?" the former dragon growled.

"And you can speak! Wonderful." The scientist continued writing notes. "That's also a first. Granted, you're the first one to live this long, too."

"I said," Ferrovax growled. "What did you do, to me?!" he repeated, grabbing the man by his shirt collar and slamming him against the wall. He winced again, as his head began to pound. "NNGH!" he hissed, dropping the scientist and holding his head.

"Easy." The man said. "You've gone through a major transformation. Your body will take some time, to adjust. Now, I think introductions are in order. You may call me Dr. Hugo Blackstone. And you are?" he said, attempting to be friendly with the ex-Pokemon.

Ferrovax thought for a moment. He always hated his name. Many trainers had begun to call him other names, names they deemed insulting but he thought fit much better.

"CT." he answered. "Call me CT." he said. That had a much nicer ring to it, than Ferrovax. If he was no longer a Pokemon, may as well completely start over. "Now would you kindly tell me what in bloody hell is going on? Where am I? Why am I…"

"Human?" Blackstone finished. CT nodded.

"You were the first of a breakthrough experiment, in which we're able to transform Pokemon into humans. Looks like it wasn't a hundred percent, though." He said, noting CT's jet-black eyes and magenta pupils.

"Why? How?" CT asked.

"Oh, it goes back many years, back to when I was a trainer, myself. You see, my partner was a very special Pokemon. I didn't realize how special, until I was older. But that Pokemon…it could transform into any being, so long as it had the DNA. It could even make itself appear human, though it was only temporary. Still, it made me think. What if we could permanently turn Pokemon into humans? Bridge the gap between human and Pokemon, and Pokemon would no longer be slaves for humans' entertainment."

"I've devoted my life to this research, and it looks like it finally paid off." Blackstone continued, with a sly grin.

"Permanent?" CT growled. "You're going to leave me like this?" he snapped.

"Your very DNA has been completely stripped down and reconstructed. It's a miracle you survived. Even if we knew how to reverse it, you most definitely would not live through another transformation." Blackstone replied. "I suggest you start getting used to your new body, because you're stuck with it."

CT growled, again. He wanted nothing more than to rip this guy's throat out, but that wouldn't do much good.

"I want. To go home." He insisted, instead.

"You can't." Blackstone said, calmly.

"The hell I can't!" CT shouted.

"I said, you can't." Blackstone repeated. "You were on death row. They were going to put you down, after what happened at the league." He sighed. "We've heard about you, and the rest of Myers' team. You've built quite the reputation, and are somewhat celebrities around Kanto. But, I digress. I wanted the Nidoking, but Myers' refused. Dr. Porter said a Gliscor gave him your Poke Ball instead, so we worked with what we got." He shrugged.

CT fumbled, for words. They were going to put him down? His friends? They were his teammates. They had been through so much, together. Sure, he had a bit of a temper, but that was no reason to put him down! His eye flickered with anger, and his fists clenched. He flashed his pointed teeth, and growled, deeply. He slammed his fist into the wall, a bright orange energy circling around it, and the impact caused Dr. Blackstone to fumble backwards.

"Focus Blast?" Blackstone breathed. "Incredible… you can still use your moves! This could not only be a new step in Pokemon evolution, but human as well!" he quickly scrambled for his tablet, to make note of this.

CT, meanwhile, was still burning with rage. But then, a thought occurred to him. Maybe being human wouldn't be so bad, after all. He could start anew, and he could get revenge on the ones that had wronged him. Maybe he could even stick around, with this Blackstone fellow. Befriend him. Learn from him. Then, when the time is right, kill him. Kill all of them, and burn the place to the ground.

CT stood up straight, and straightened his shirt. He grinned at Dr. Blackstone, flashing his sharp teeth. "I think we got off to a bad start."

Maggie stared in shock, at the empty case that once held her brutal Hydreigon. Oh, god. He was gone. "Oh, no. No, no, no…" she whispered. "He took him…"

"Who took who?" her father walked in.

"The man…Ferrovax…he took him…" she sputtered.

"Hey, calm down." Her father said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Now take a deep breath, and tell me what happened."

Maggie inhaled, and exhaled, slowly. "There was a man, at the door. He said he was a scientist. Stephen Porter. He said there was a research facility interested in my Pokemon, and asked if he could borrow them. I said no, and now Ferrovax is gone."

Her father sighed. "Don't worry. We'll find this Porter fellow, and get your Hydreigon back." He assured her.