After everyone had made their preparations, Oak opened a panel in his lab that went to a secret room. After stepping in, they saw it was a large vehicle garage!
"I know that Tyler has his dune buggy, but I doubt everyone can fit in it." Oak explained. "Therefore, we're going to have to provide you with some transportation. Vehicles are a hobby of mine, but I never thought we would need them. Pick a vehicle, and let's hit it."
Avery chose a large-size motorcycle with enough room for both him and Kasi to ride. Ash, Brock, Dawn and Tracey piled into another dune buggy while the Professors got into an off-road pickup truck while Tyler drove up from the surface with his own dune buggy. They started up the vehicles and drove out of the garage, down the gravel path to the lab and onto the road.
Avery turned on the headset Oak gave him. "Everyone got their headsets on?"
"Yep." Tracey replied. "Can hear you clear as day."
"The tracker is ready and online." Elm said. "Oh my… It appears the signal is coming from a bit further north of us, past the Indigo Plateau in the Orre region."
"The Orre Region?" Ash asked. "I've never been there, before. I've only heard stories about it."
"Any chance you can pin-point the signal, Prof?" Kasi asked.
"I'm working on it." Elm said. "…The closest I can pin the signal down so far is a canyon area outside Phenac City. Once we get to Orre, I'll be able to give a more accurate location."
Avery still held out hope as they got onto an access road to the Indigo Plateau. "Hold on, Takuya…"
# # # # # # # # # #
Takuya woke up to his body screaming in pain. He was in a dark room, and realized he was strapped down to a table, restrained by multiple belts on each limb. His head was ringing slightly from the feedback of the snare cannons he was hit with as he started to tug at his restraints, testing them. They were made from some high-quality material, hard to break. Combine that with his weakened state, and it would be next to impossible for him to break out. How long had he been unconscious?
"About twenty-four hours." A gruff voice said from the shadows, answering Takuya's questioning thought as if he had asked it aloud. "I'll have to remind Master Denzel to lower the voltage on those snare cannons. I suggest you settle in, you are not going anywhere for a long time, Takuya Wong."
Takuya turned his head to face the direction of the voice, scanning the room with his eyes. He saw three figures in the darkness but couldn't make out who they were. From what he could see, one was tall and bulky, taking up a lot of the shadowed space. The second one was slightly shorter than the first, with what looked like the silhouette of a bodybuilder. The third was the shortest in the group, with a slender body that didn't look normal.
"You seem to have me at a disadvantage here…" Takuya said.
"I am insulted!" The short one snapped with a raspy, sharp voice. "You don't even remember us after what happened! Well then, I guess I better give you a hint..."
The short one raised a hand into the light that clearly wasn't fully human! The fingers' tips had long, blade-like claws that resembled sickles, the skin colored a greenish-cream color. The knuckles and palm area of the hand were covered with a dark-green shell that resembled natural armor, like the shell of a bug.
Takuya looked at the hand, feeling uneasy. But it wasn't brining back much. "If we had met, I surely would have recalled seeing that…"
"Figures." The short one said. "You don't recognize me after our transformation. Here's another bread crumb to lead you to the truth: You raised me since I was young."
Takuya felt his pulse raise a tad as his mind raced to figure out who this was. "That doesn't help much, either. The only creature I brought up was a Pokemon that I hatched from an… egg…" Takuya then stopped talking, as his mind started to add up two and two.
The middle-heighted one laughed. "He's getting warmer…"
"Indeed." The short one sneered, taking a step forward revealing more of his insect-like features. "I was your traveling companion. The only one that could fight for you, seeing as Avery and Kasi didn't have their… Gifts at the time. I battled many others for you, with great pride. Like a gladiator would fight for the favor of his Emperor in the arena…"
Takuya's face set into a fearful gaze as he looked on at the short one. It had now dawned on him, but he didn't want to believe it!
"Ooh, I think he's red-hot. Close to figuring it out…" The medium one spoke again as a dark snicker came out of his throat.
"Yes." The short one mused. He then held out his other bladed hand, with a red bandanna hanging from a finger. "You gave this to me when we started our journey, said it would help you find me if I ever got lost. Well… It certainly served its purpose now, don't you think?" The short one proceeded to walk into the light, revealing the horrible truth with an evil grin to boot.
Takuya couldn't deny the facts anymore. "Reaper?!" Takuya blurted out the name he gave to his Scyther. "How in the… What the hell did they do to you?!"
"The same thing they did to you." Reaper answered, putting a bladed finger underneath Takuya's chin as the table he was on started to raise and pivot, so he was facing them. "Yes, like you and the other humans, I have been spliced. As well as the others." Reaper motioned back towards his conspirators still standing in the dark. "Surely you can guess their identities as well…"
Takuya's eyes looked over to the other two in the shadows, quickly putting the puzzle pieces together. "Venin? Sparta? Oh, god! They put you through this, too?!"
"It wasn't as if we had a choice!" Sparta the Machamp snapped, walking into the light with Venin the Nidoking. "Though the splicing does have its benefits, don't get me wrong. It's just a shame it had to happen this way, after you left us behind."
Takuya shot a glare at Sparta. "That's not true! I dug through those ruins for hours after they collapsed, looking for your Pokeballs and couldn't find them! I thought you had died in the facility…"
"You thought wrong!" Reaper snarled, holding four of his bladed fingers dangerously close to Takuya's neck, silencing him. "…Though it is ironic how fate works things out. I couldn't have dreamed for a better plan for revenge…" He grinned, showing pointy teeth. "Looks like you will be the one left to perish this time, as soon as Avery and Kasi show up to save you."
"Look, Reaper! If we had known you were still alive after the collapse of the facility, we would have come back to find you!" Takuya pleaded.
"Oh, please." Reaper scoffed, venom lacing his words. "Quit lying! We know that you were only thinking of yourselves, and as Master Denzel told us in advance, all you would do is grovel a bunch of bullcrap! Unfortunately, he was correct, right down to the letter." Reaper ended the sentence by spitting in Takuya's face.
Takuya stared back at Reaper in horror as he continued. "Thankfully after we were punished sufficiently, Master Denzel forgave us and allowed us to work with him. We are his Pokemon now and are not your puppets anymore..."
Takuya was speechless, staring at the now obviously insane Pokemon that he thought he once knew.
Sparta laughed heartily. "What's the matter, Takuya? Does the cat have your tongue?"
Venin grinned, showing rows of sharp teeth. "Maybe his brain has finally spun itself out. The hamster up there finally gave up, I'm guessing…"
Takuya looked at all of them, desperate to break through. "You can't be lost… I know there's still good in all of you!" He pleaded. "I won't give up on you! Think! Think back to how we raised you, helped you grow alongside us… We can overcome this. I know you can't believe everything Denzel told you…"
"Oh, quit your preaching!" Reaper snapped. "We know you are full of absolute crap! Save your sermons for someone who gives a damn! You are just wasting your breath, and our time. This conversation is over."
Reaper clapped his hands a few times, motioning for Sparta and Venin to follow him. The three then walked over towards the door of the room, deep in the shadows.
"Oh. Hold on a second…" Reaper raised one of his fingers. He then started to buzz his wings, hovering in the air. Then, he darted over to Takuya and swiped the bladed finger twice across an exposed section of his chest, leaving a cut small enough not to bleed out, but big enough to leave a permanent scar and deep enough to evict a yell of pain from Takuya.
"That's something to remember me by," Reaper said. "So, you never forget your treachery…"
Reaper then hovered back over to the door with a dark chuckle as Sparta hit a button on the wall to open it as it whooshed open, star trek style. Reaper and Sparta then went through the door. Venin, however paused for a second. He glanced over his shoulder at Takuya, noticing the sorrow in his eyes.
"Venin! Come on!" Reaper called. "Master Denzel awaits…"
Venin then turned back and exited the room, noticing a tear running down Takuya's face. As the door shut, he could hear small, choked sobs coming from the inside of the room. Then as he walked down the corridor, he heard Takuya let out a cry of despair. He started to wonder if he was right…