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What Lies at the Core	By : Twill Category: Pokemon > General Views: 6203 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. I'm not worth anything so don't sue.

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Rel whimpered into the cold concrete below her, while her body protested at what it had been put through. A wave of nausea overwhelmed her, and she fought to keep from emptying her stomach, her body seeming to spin despite lying still. What happened to me? There was nothing but pain and nausea. Every muscle hurt and attempts to move were fruitless, her heart beating slowly.

Tears streamed down her face from the corners of her closed eyes; she didn't know why she was crying, and she didn't care. Fog clouded her thoughts, she didn't know where she was, and it didn't seem like anyone noticed her pathetic form crippled on the ground. Tears pooled on the hard concrete, and nothing but silence and her gentle sobs.

The tears stopped eventually, though whether it had been minutes or days was unknown. She tried desperately to remember anything, to clear her clouded mind, but there was nothing. There had been a boat, and then driving in a car, and man with a Hydreigon...

“Eric,” she croaked from her dry throat, and the word was mangled with her face still against the ground. The silence answered deafeningly. Memory of those last moments flooded back to her as she tried desperately to force her eyes open. He had to be there.

“Eric,” she tried again in a hoarse whisper, her eyes opening to a blurry, dimly lit area. Slowly, painfully, she forced her eyes to open and close, trying to clear her vision. He couldn't be dead, they wouldn't have hurt him. The man had known about her, he would have known how useful Eric could have been, he wouldn't have... Eric couldn't be...

Drugged. She could think of nothing else. Fear, her erratic breathing, her heart should have been racing, but it beat lethargically in her chest. And the fog that ensnared her senses, no stun gun would have caused that. She needed to find out what was going on.

Slowly, painfully she brought a paw to her face, dragging the useless limb across the cement floor and bringing it to her tear dampened fur, wiping an eye. She couldn't see anything from where she was, face resting against the floor and barely able to move. Arduously she raised her elbow off the ground. Palm down, she pushed, leveraging her body up.

Pain. Agony blossomed from her neck, feeling as if she'd been beheaded. She collapsed with a gasp, sucking air into her lungs and writhing pitifully on the floor. It hurt. It hurt a lot. She wept until a comforting blackness descended over her.

Pain greeted her again as she woke slowly, though this time it was a dull ache instead of the cutting agony of before. The nausea and confusion were gone, yet she still had no idea of what was going on. She tested an arm. It moved sluggishly, but she had control over the limb this time. Cradling her head with one hand, she levered herself up with the other, pushing herself to her knees. She rose shakily but managed to sit up.

It was a largely empty room, the concrete floor and walls hinting that it was some kind of underground storage area or something of the sort. Aside from some crates however, there was nothing else. Eric. Her neck felt like it had been wrenched, causing her to have to twist her body awkwardly to look around or endure the excruciating pain. Her limbs were unsteady but worked.

The air was damp and heavy, and aside from the dim lights overhead, no indication to when or where exactly she was. Eric, the attack, the Hydreigon, the man. She tried to stay calm, to breathe, but it was useless. She hugged her knees tightly to her chest and shook. He said he was waiting for me, does he want information? Money? There has to be a reason. And Eric, he had to be fine right? No one could just kill a man like that.

Footsteps sounded from the other side of the room's solitary door, and she turned to glance at the entrance. She tried to give off an outward calm, not wanting to appear weak to her captor, but if anything she trembled harder. The heavy door grated on its hinges as it swung slowly inward.

“Ah I'm glad to see you're awake,” the man said as he entered the room, shutting the door behind him. It was the same man who had attacked them on the road. “I was wondering when I'd be getting the chance to have a chat with you.” The smile he wore was one of the most frightening expressions she'd ever seen, and had fear not frozen her where she was, she would have retreated to the far wall.

He walked up in front of her and extended a bottle with a clear liquid towards her. “Thirsty?” he asked, shaking the bottle slightly. “It's only water.” She tried to reply but only managed in opening her mouth, her throat clenched in fear.

“I'm afraid I must insist,” he said and thrust the bottle into her palm, waiting for her to grasp it. Once she did he sat down cross legged in front of her, mere inches away. Smiling. He could have done whatever he wished when I was unconscious, he'd have no reason to poison me now. Slowly she reached for the cap and opened the bottle, her shaking hand spilling a few drops onto her leg. She hesitated a moment, looking into those cold, dead eyes, but her parched throat won out and she gulped desperately at the cool liquid.

“Much better isn't it?” The man's eyes betraying his insincerity. Rel returned the cap and placed it next to her, her breathing ragged.

“Who are you? What do you want with me? Where's Eric?” Her questions came out as a squeak in the silence of the room. The man's expression never faltered.

“Don't rush yourself, we have plenty of time. As for who I am? You can call me Master. Your little professor friend? I had no use for him, you're the one I wanted.” She shuddered at his words, what he left out an ominous void.

“Di-Did you, is he...?” She tried but she couldn't get the words to come out, the man's soothing smile curving into a wicked grin.

“Your concern for him is adorable, but in the end he begged and pleaded, offering you in exchange for his life.” She recoiled from his words, unbelieving. The man's eye's finally showed life as he watched her reaction. No, he's lying, Eric wouldn't have. If he's still alive. No he is alive, and he'll get help.

“You didn't say what you want with me, you obviously aren't interested in what I know, as Eric would have also known.” Her fierce words were met only with laughter.

“No no, you are correct in that I'm not looking for information. In fact I'm not exactly sure what I want with you, which makes this all the more exciting.” The gleam that had entered his eyes grew as he talked, looking hungrily at her. Those eyes scared her. He reached out, running a hand gently across her muzzle, stroking her fur. She tried to pull away but he grabbed her snout, pulling her towards him, forcing her to meet his gaze.

“You are such an interesting beast you are, so many possibilities.” The relaxed, casual tone was gone now, his voice base and intense. “Taming you will be so much more, rewarding, than the shells that inhabit these lands. And having your powers under my control, well who knows, these simpletons have no knowledge or defenses against a Zoroark's illusion.” His eyes burned into hers. He was insane, his hand keeping her jaw in an iron grip, forcing her to look into the depths of madness. She wanted to cry.

“I'd never help you,” she growled through the hold he had on her, though she had to drop her eyes, unable to keep her nerve under that gaze. He released her with a shove and she fell back, catching herself on her hands.

The man laughed. “We will see.” They were alone, he didn't have any pokemon with him, and the door behind him was shut. As weakened as she was, her claws could tear him apart. All she needed was to escape. As quick as her weakened body would allow, she lunged, swiping her red claws towards the man's confident grin. And her body froze.

Her claws, red as the blood they were ready to spill wavered inches from the man's unflinching face. He burst into raucous laughter.

“Do you think I'm an idiot? One of these Hoenn simpletons you were sent to develop? No. I'm sure you're familiar with the neural networking research, at least in passing, or more importantly, why it was banned shortly after live trials began. Well unlike you Unovans who are always so righteous and stuck up, Vasedra continued work on the concept.

“Ultimately the project was abandoned for the same reasons as why it was banned by Assembly edict, but there were a number of improvements made to the device.” She watched his eyes light up in glee as he saw realization wash over her, her stomach sinking. “Yes. Well I leave you here to rest up a bit, we'll talk soon.”

She barely noticed him leave, her chest tightening as she struggled for breath. No, this is impossible, he can't have. Her hand shook violently as she slowly reached back under her mane to the base of her neck. Trembling claws gingerly feeling at the incision. No. The last of her courage left her body in a rush, and she sagged to the floor, desperately trying to stave off the hysteria she felt. What had he programmed in? He had her claws right at his face, ready to tear him apart, and her body refused.

She curled up on the floor, a mixture of sobs and terrified laughter escaping her lips as tears dampened her fur. She hugged her bushy mane tightly, wrapping it around her. If he had done the operation in this filthy place then maybe infection would kill her. Eventually, she cried herself out.

Unfortunately dreams end. Rel woke, though she didn't feel any reason to. For a long time she just lay there, unable to find the motivation to move. She was more than a prisoner, more than a slave. Neural networking had shown incredible promise in truly integrating people with machines; far more than current cybernetics. The devices were small, fast, efficient and easily implantable. But there was a major drawback.

While many techniques were tried, no one working on the project had ever found a way to segregate to machine from the person's mind and body, essentially giving the device nearly complete control over the body. The technology was quickly banned, the potential for abuse too great. And now it was in Hoenn where no one would recognize it. In her.

Completely taking over another person was out of the question, the technology wasn't nearly robust enough for that. It could perform more simple actions though, such as apparently preventing her from attacking that man. And from what she read, simple feelings such as smell or taste had been successfully transmitted.

She picked one of her arms up, looking at it closely. If he had programmed it in so that she was forbidden to escape, then this room would be completely unnecessary. He could leave her in an open field and she would starve to death before ever being able to leave.

The claw she ran through the fur of her arm tickled, slowly tracing a path in the matted fur. One quick motion and nothing would be a problem. She sat, a large blood red claw hovering over her wrist. Whether it was herself or the device though, she couldn't do it. Her arm dropped to the floor as she moved to sit against one of the crates. Please be alive Eric, please. Don't leave me to this.

The heavy door swung open but she didn't even look up as footsteps entered the room.

“Oh cheer up, it's not that bad.” The man's calm, almost compassionate voice was back, she could see his shadow fall over her as he approached. “Look, I've brought some food and water for my little Zoroark.” Her face rose to look up at the beaming man.

“Please just tell me what you want, I can give you money, information, anything.” Her pleas sounded pathetic even to her, but she could do nothing else. He sneered at her offer.

“Money? I have more than I know what to do with. Information? I live here in Hoenn, what need do I have for information? These backwards people wouldn't know what I was doing here if I told them, and there's no way that any of their laughable enforcement agencies would ever catch on without my knowing.” He once again took a seat across from her, sitting with legs crossed on the floor.

“No, the only thing I want in life anymore is the thrill of living. I achieved power, made my fortune, and it bored me. So I came here, to this place inhabited by naive idiots to do whatever I wished. Let me ask you, have you ever felt the power of completely controlling another living sentient being?” She cowered back from the man, hugging her mane. Those maniacal eyes gleaming once again.

“Training these husks they consider pokemon here was interesting for a while, but I wanted more. To strip the very being and soul away, bending it to my will. I bet it will feel incredible. Think of the fun we can have.” He looked straight at her, unblinking. Silence hung as she trembled, failing to meet the insane man's eyes. He was cruel for the sake of being cruel, there was no reason for him to do this to her. She tried to stop herself from shaking, clenching her sweating paws into fists, but it only made her shrink farther against the crate.

“But let's not get ahead of ourselves,” his voice whispered very close to her. Having taken her eyes off the man he had moved in closer, his face inches from hers. His hot breath tickling her fur. “You have a busy day tomorrow, you should eat something.” He trailed a hand gently across her angular face. She tried to back away from him but the crate trapped her. The man stood a moment later. A sad whimper escaped her lips and brought a smile to the man's face, her complete inability to control herself a disgrace.

The food he spoke of was two bowls, one containing water, the other some kind of kibble. “I'm not going to eat that, I'm not some animal.”

“You can do this willingly or be forced. And you are an animal, you're my animal.” He didn't raise his voice, but the threat was loud and clear. She would not abase herself in front of him. The glower she received made her squirm, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction, at least that's what she thought. A cry tore itself from her throat as a whip lashed across her back. She fell forward, grasping the back of her shoulders where the blow came from but felt nothing, no welt, no blood.

“Now are we feeling more agreeable or shall I continue?” It was an emotionless inquiry, no anger or expectation. The next blow landed across her stomach. She curled in on herself with a strangled yelp, trying to protect herself from the invisible blows.

“If that's what you choose.” The man grabbed her by the mane and dragged her painfully towards the bowls, thrusting her face into the food. And she ate. Shame and pain dragged the tears from her eyes as she ate, like some wild beast.

“You will eat everything before I return. Rest, you will fight tomorrow.” The man's emotions changed at the drop of a hat, and he strode out of the room, leaving her to endure her humiliation in solitude.

Rel hated herself for what she'd just done. Cowering in front of that sadistic man and then eating like some mindless animal. And she had eaten, the gnawing hunger making her feed from the bowl. She couldn't even look at it.

Her fur was matted and lost its glossy sheen from going so long without washing. She didn't even know how long it had been since the attack and her subsequent capture; the room contained no indication of time. Eric will find me, he'll get me out. Or Mewtwo will, he said he'd watch over me, that I'd see him again. But the hopes seemed hollow in her head.

Quietly she dragged herself to one of the room's corners and curled up. This wasn't supposed to happen, it had to be a nightmare. Closing her eyes she thought of the boat, hoping that's she'd wake up bored with Eric bemoaning the ship's rocking. To start over.

The morning, she guessed as there was nothing to indicate time, started with the heavy door swinging open and crashing into the wall.

“Get up,” the man's stony voice called, not even bothering to enter the room. Rel rose slowly, her body feeling much closer to normal after eating and getting some restful sleep. “Follow,” she was commanded and the man walked off down the corridor leading away from the room.

Not wanting to antagonize the man so early, she did as she was told, stretching her limbs out as she walked. While her neck was still a little bit stiff, the rest of her body felt fine, the invisible blows she had felt left no indication that they'd happened.

The hallway was dark and unlit, entirely made out of concrete just like where she was held. A steep set of stairs led upwards, and she followed close on the man's heels. An enormous warehouse greeted her as she climbed the last stairs and walked out. It was filled with all manner of things. Shipping containers somehow stacked inside loomed over them at one side of the complex. Rows of ancient looking monitors lined another section of wall. A vast open area containing cracks and small craters spread across a good expanse of the interior.

It was impressive to say the least, that such a large indoor area was constructed, let alone this one man could afford to build it. Maybe he was as wealthy as he had hinted.

“There is a shower in the far corner, go clean yourself up, you're disgusting.” His voice was cold, but she gazed to where he pointed. She hesitated a moment longer, unsure if he wanted her to just go or if she would be escorted, but when he didn't move she scurried off in the indicated direction.

The shower, if it could be called that, was more or less a spigot extending out of the wall and hanging over a pit where the water would drain. There was no way that she saw for adjusting temperature, so she stepped into the icy water and began to scrub herself off the best she could. She gasped as the frigid water shocked her body and mind, her chest tightening at the uncomfortable cold.

There were towels hanging from hooks she hadn't seen and she grabbed one, quickly drying herself off. The cold waters had cleared her head of the fog and self pity. If she was to escape she needed to think clearly. She was no coward. She wouldn't just lay down and die for this psychopath, her life had never been easy, and she would overcome this as well. He's insane, he'll slip up eventually and I can escape. She just needed to keep her head down and stay observant.

Taking her time heading back she examined her surroundings a little more closely. A lot of the technology in the building looked to be of Hoenn design, bulky computer monitors with keyboards, noisy heat producing devices. There were some items however that were clearly not of Hoenn origin, and she suspected that the device implanted in her neck was not the only one from the Core nations.

The ceiling was also lined with devices ranging from simple antennas most likely for some Hoenn devices to complex systems that looked conspicuously like aura type wave disruptors. So he had this place well defended against everything, not just the natives. None of that really mattered to her though, not with the device in her neck. There had to be a way around it.

“You took your time,” the man spat, Rel met his gaze defiantly. “Now get in the arena,” he said, pointing to the large open area she had seen before, only now there was a Hydreigon in it.

Rel blinked. “I don't think-” but she was cut off.

“If I wanted to hear the useless drivel coming out of your mouth I would have asked,” and he gave her a shove towards the battlefield. Her heart began to quicken with each step she took towards the menacing beast. The last time she'd fought anyone was when she was a Zorua, and then it had only been playing around, she was no fighter.

Three sets of eyes glared at her as she entered the arena, watching hungrily. The beast let out a deafening roar from its main head, large fangs dripping in anticipation. She couldn't do this. Even if her typing had been better the pokemon was just too big.

“I'll even let you take the first swing uncontested,” a taunting voice came from her side, the man laughing as he watched on with interest. Rel glanced up, forcing her hands steady and trying to think of something, anything that she could do. She ran.

Moving quickly she launched herself at her imposing foe. The creature watched with disinterest as she quickly closed the gap and leapt, dragging her claws against the monster's exposed stomach. The Hydreigon only laughed as she fell lightly to her feet before she was struck by one of creature's heads. The limb crashed into her with a crunch as she felt her body thrown into the ground. Stars danced across her vision as she tried to stand. Adrenaline numbed the pain as her mind scrambled, trying to regain her bearings.

“That was pathetic, it's astounding you were even allowed to live up until now,” the voice jeered. “You're not even worth the time, or are you holding back?” Rel got shakily to her feet, coughing. She wavered, clutching at the pain in her side, Hydreigon looming. Focus, I need to snap out of it. “Dragon rush!”

She didn't even have time to react as Hydreigon began to glow and blur, moving with impossible speed. The dragon crashed into her with terrifying force. Agony blinded her as her tiny form was crushed beneath the enormous dragon, the blow ending the battle. Hydreigon lifted itself from her ruined body.

Unbidden tears rolled down her face as she gasped for air. Her instinctual need to breathe forcing shattered ribs to twist within her in searing pain. She writhed on the ground with only some of her limbs responding, one of her arms twisted impossibly underneath her. Blood overwhelmed her senses. She could taste it, smell it, her blood.

“Worthless.” A shadow passed over her. Her only working eye was blurred by tears, but it could only be one person. It was like being struck by lightning as the man grabbed her mangled arm and lifted her ruined body. She couldn't even fill her lungs enough to scream, instead releasing a gurgling whimper, blood running down her chest from her mouth. It will all be over soon, please be alive Eric, and don't let this be for nothing.

She wished she could have felt fear, or regret, but at that moment she felt nothing. Blood ran thickly through her fur, hot and sticky. And as her muscles spasmed uselessly, calm washed over her. The cruel, unbearable agony was still there, but her mind broke away from that part of her body, seemingly floating above it. She didn't care. Her life had been stolen away, but it felt so insignificant now, so futile.

Her racing heart had started to slow, beating weakly inside of her chest. It was cold. Each choking breath filled her lungs with less air, and crimson life ran freely from her gasping mouth. The man dropped her to the ground as a fire roared within her. An incredible heat coursed through her body, bringing her back.

Her chest convulsed and she cleared her lungs, a large amount of blood forcing its way out of her mouth and painting the floor red. A rattling gasp ripped from her throat as her body desperately tried to feed itself air as she collapsed back to the ground. He was saving her, what had he done? She began to pant as the inferno filled her, life returning before blackness overtook her.

“Eat.” The harsh voice called her mind back to consciousness. Slowly she picked her head off the floor, her nostrils filled with the metallic stink of blood. I'm...alive? She didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the though. “I said eat,” the voice commanded again and she opened her eyes.

It was the same room she had first woken in, the underground storage area. Her throat burned and she didn't care if he watched, she dove for the bowl of water and drank. Flecks of blood dropped from her matted fur but she ignored it, greedily sating her thirst. When he was satisfied, the man returned above, Rel glaring at his back as he left.

The fight had been completely unnecessary, it had been decided before it begun. Its only purpose had been to humiliate her. Clutching the bowl tightly she began to eat, her body starving after what it had to repair. Rel retreated to the corner and watched the single entrance to the room while she fed herself with a trembling hand. Blood crunched sickly in her matted fur, but she couldn't go back upstairs, she couldn't face him.

She had felt death, death at the hands of that immense dragon. Her single attack barely marked the beast's hide while its own attack should have killed her. I was powerless, there was nothing I could have done to stop it. She curled up in the corner, attempting to steady her hand as she ate. I can get out of this somehow, it will be okay, not long now. She only wished she believed herself.

No one came to bother her down in the storage room. The man had left the door open and hadn't commanded her to stay put, but she had no desire to go above anyway. She huddled in the corner, letting the hatred towards her insane captor fill her as she pretended, pretended that it wasn't fear that crippled her. Despite her exhaustion however, she wouldn't let herself fall asleep, she had to stay alert, watchful, had to...

Rel jerked awake some time later, how long precisely she had no clue. There was more food left for her and, she ate it without hesitation, ignoring the humiliation of being fed like livestock. I'm not an animal, no matter what he does. After finishing she returned to her corner and thought. There was nothing else for her to do.

During the second day after being healed the man returned. She had snuck up the night before and showered to get her blood out of her fur, but hadn't seen any other sign of life. For how large the complex was, the few times she'd spent above showed very little activity.

“Upstairs,” he commanded and turned, not waiting to see if she followed. It shamed her how quickly she did follow, but she didn't want him to hurt her, and she knew he wouldn't hesitate. He was waiting for her above, and he lead her into the arena where luckily there was no Hydreigon to be seen. She still shuddered at the place where she nearly died though.

“Make yourself invisible,” the man commanded, waiting impatiently.

She blinked at him. “With my illusion powers?”

“Unless you know of another way to do it. You must be useful for something,” he spat, waiting for her.

“I've never really been-” but she was cut off.

“I don't want your worthless excuses, I want you to make yourself fucking invisible.” She cringed against his words but closed her eyes, concentrating. She had never really worked on her illusions, and it was hard enough to concentrate under the best circumstances. Making something invisible required one to bend the light around the object they wanted hidden; she knew that much. Under the watchful gaze of her captor, she set the illusion around herself, hoping desperately that it worked.

“I know it must be difficult for such a stupid animal to figure out, but invisible means I shouldn't see you.” The words were punctuated by a blow, one of the immaterial whips striking her side. She let out a cry, falling to her knees on the concrete floor.

“This was the best that freak who leads Unova could offer? No wonder that professor didn't even try put up a fight over you.” Another blow. “Mewtwo must have figured this was the easiest to get rid of such an incompetent beast.” Her claws grasped where the invisible whips had struck, trying to hold back her tears in front of the man. He's lying, Mewtwo didn't want me to leave, he cares about me. I bet he's looking for me right now, and so is Eric, he wouldn't have abandoned me either.

“Again, make yourself invisible.” She hastily wrapped herself in another illusion, trying to hide from him as much as comply with the order. A tear fell from her face as she looked down, her outline making a ripple in the air where she should be invisible, and the illusion faltered as fear churned her stomach. He was going to hurt her again.

“I see speaking to you has little effect on that simple mind of yours,” he jeered, slowly walking around her. A hand ran up the fur of her back, and his voice whispered close in her ear. “I should kill you instead of wasting my time trying to teach a mindless animal such as yourself, but I guess you're just lucky I'm so patient.”

“I-I don't know how,” she whined as her body tensed from the anticipated blows.

“Is that insipid voice of yours the only thing you know how to use?” he asked pulling away from her. “And I believe I told you to call me Master.” Rel screamed and stumbled away from the man, clawing at her chest. Her skin burned as if a white hot brand had been thrust against her.

“Is this what I must do to get through to that feeble brain of yours?” He snarled.

“P-Please stop this,” she begged.

“How do you address me?!”

“Master!” She sobbed. “Master please stop!” The pain ended as she heard him walking away.

“Get out of my sight, scum. And the next time I see that worthless hide of yours you better be able to make it disappear.” Attempting to control herself brought little success, her chest still burned from whatever he had done to her. After a time she managed to stop hyperventilating and pulled herself off the ground. I'm not useless. She dragged herself back to the storage room, unsure of where else to go and wanting to be alone. Please hurry, anybody.

It was cold underground, and there was nothing but the hard concrete to lay on. She hugged her mane tightly too herself, wrapping it around her as best she could while curling up in the corner. Why did he do this? Was there a purpose or did he just enjoy hurting her, enjoy belittling her. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. She wasn't useless.

Nothing had changed when she next woke up. She scratched at the ground listlessly with one of her red claws. There was no point. The man had to have a neural computer of his own, that was the only way he could have made her feel those blows. If that was the case however, she could do nothing. She had tried to access the device in her own neck, but it must be only able to send output to her body, as her efforts had gotten nowhere.

And that meant he could torture her without physically harming her. Whatever he did wouldn't kill her. There was no escape. She would never obey him, but what if she couldn't help it? What if he continued to torment her until she broke? Her stomach growled but she couldn't work up the motivation to eat, instead waiting for the man to return, to hurt her again. She watched the door intently, but he never came, leaving her alone in the open cell.

Even if she had the energy, there was no reason to look around. The man could subdue her with a thought, and his Hydreigon would crush her. He had shown just how easily her life could be snuffed out. So instead she closed her eyes, wishing that everything would just go away, and she would be forgotten.
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What Lies at the Core