Story Notes:
It was a quiet night when Deoxys descended from the heavens.
Believed to not be of this world, it went on a rampage, leaving death and destruction in its wake.
Finally defeated by an unknown force, the tragedy of unparalleled magnitude it created remains in the heart of every human.
To make sure that something like this will never happen again, every wild Pokèmon powerful enough to cause such mayhem must be captured, controlled or killed.
Needless to say, this year has been a bad year for Legendaries. This year has also been a bad year for Champion Trainers.
But my year... Has been... THE WORST!
Distressed Damsel Dragonair
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Something hurts.
... Like HELL!
I'm lying down? Hey, I can't move! What the-
"Hey, he's waking up!" someone shouts with a frightened voice, "This is bad! He'll bleed out!"
Opening my eyes, I hastily look down on my own body to see what's hurting me. The sight is... Not pretty. My torso's broken, and... Yeah, it's my blood, alright...
... I'm dying. Damn, it hurts...
"Jirachi, use Hypnosis!" a somewhat familiar voice yells.
"What was that?" another familiar voice replies, "Hmm... I could'a sworn I heard something..."
"... Jirachi, I wish for you to use Hypnosis!" the other voice says, and I remember the angry trainer who in hindsight I probably should not have underestimated and instead snapped his neck the moment he appeared.
"Your wish is my command, master!" the voice belonging to the creature responsible for my death chimes. That dirty little shit, attacking when my guard was down! I swear... If I survive this... I'll...
...
Ahh... Wind whisks by me, soothing the pain of my wound...
... Not really, though. More like creeping into my body, and... Wait, where the hell am I now!?
"Holy shit, he's waking up again!" the voice from earlier says. I open my eyes, but all I see is a rapidly changing mixture of white and blue.
"A LEGENDARY couldn't keep him down!?" a new gruff voice shouts, "No choice! Tranquilizers!"
Tranquilizers!? Hell no, I hate those! Pain or not, just don't make me fall... Asleep... Again...
...
A bright light.
Death? Seems a bit... Familiar.
"Chansey!" a soft voice says with far too much worry in it for my tastes, "He's coming back to consciousness!"
STOP SAYING THAT! You know, death's starting to sound pretty sweet compared to this!
"We require heavy sedation!" another sweet voice says, "Everyone, use Hypnosis at once!"
I'm getting sick of this. Alright, my eyes are beginning to adjust... A hospital? Perfect. Sow me up and let's get the hell out of here.
"Don't hold back!" the first voice says, "He's built up a resistance against sleep!"
So give me a bloody medal for it. The 'bloody' part comes from hanging it around my neck in me current state, heh heh...
... I really am going to die? That sucks... Everything's... Slipping away...
...
Urr...
"He's... He's waking up!"
No shit. How long was I out this time?
"Hmm... They said he'd be out for a week."
... That long?
"S-Security! We've got a wild Pok-"
Oh, hey... My chest! It's... It's healed!
"Shut up! Throw him in the cage!"
UGH! Hey, careful! I'm still recovering...
"There, problem solved... If you think I'm losing my reputation over this mutt..."
Lying on the cold hard ground, Lucario heard the two people behind him walk away. He tried to get up, but his limbs felt they had not been used for days and were completely powerless. Before his vision was nothing but darkness, which did not dissipate even as his sight began to improve. Turning his head in confusion he saw a large door close not far away, but it was obscured by long and thick strands of grey.
For a moment he thought that like the rest of his body his eyes had been damaged, but shifting his head a little he saw that there were in fact several tall, solid objects between himself and the door. His sight focused with each passing moment until he was able to make out that the objects were bars, slowly realizing that he was viewing the inside of a cage.
Lowering his head down to the ground, Lucario felt torn between taking a nap and simply dying. However, his lamentations were cut short as a new voice came from in front of him and let him know that he was not alone in his cell.
"... Hello?" the voice came in front of him, "New guy?" Looking up from his pathetic state, he saw what was sharing this cell with him. At first he had trouble seeing where the elongated creature began and ended, but when it suddenly uncoiled itself he could see that it had the shape of a snake. Its body carried the color of that ocean, and it had a small horn protruding from its forehead.
Lucario instinctively sprung up and was about to back away before remembering that a snake probably wouldn't talk to him if it was going to attack him. The blue serpent closed its eyes and inhaled sharply, again worrying him that its feral behavior would lead to a fight.
"... A male" the azure Pokèmon said with a slightly mischievous tone before opening its eyes and looking at him, "Can you speak?"
"... Of course" Lucario answered in a cautious way.
"Then please do..." it said as something reminiscent of a frown appeared on its face, "I have been alone in here for so long..."
"..." Lucario said nothing before sitting down, the hint of genuine sadness in the snake's voice making him drop his guard, "... What're you in for?"
"... Getting caught...?" it replied with a confused voice, "What, are you in here for a reason?"
"Nah, same thing..." Lucario said with a shrug, happy to feel that his shoulders were back in place, "Do you know where we are?"
"No" the Pokèmon responded quickly while shaking its head slightly, seemingly trying to wake itself up, "But humans experiment with us, so don't expect mercy of any kind."
"Experiment..." Lucario repeated bitterly before remembering more of what the snake had just said, "... Us?"
Looking around the cage, Lucario saw a small creature attached to one of the corner bars. It looked like a cocooned insect of some sort, a shell with brown color and no remarkable features. Its eyes were closed, and it was shaking irregularly, creating a weak rattling sound against the steel.
"What the... What's up with him?" Lucario asked, the shaking of the Pokèmon looking both unnatural and painful.
"He's... Gone" the serpent sighed depressingly, "He's been sitting in that corner ever since I ended up here, never saying or doing anything."
The snake was now fully uncoiled and had its upper body effortlessly lifted from the ground. Lucario noticed a set of round ornaments attached under its chin as well as tail, reminding him of Zerobi's yellow jewel which she claimed to be organic. The thought of these balls being the same made him shudder.
"So..." the blue Pokèmon said slowly while subtly nudging closer to Lucario, "... You're male, huh?"
"Listen, I've seen enough prison movies to know where this is heading" Lucario growled as the snake's movements had not gone unnoticed, "I may look weakened, but don't try anything. I can either be your friend, or the guy who crushes your skull."
The snake suddenly reared back in terror, Lucario realizing what he had just said and wondering if he had misread the situation.
"... Sorry. I'm not in a good mood" Lucario said slowly while looking at the frightened Pokèmon.
"That's... Understandable" it replied while its expression calmed down a bit.
"Grah, I'm so hungry I could die!" Lucario suddenly burst out, his stomach growling and making him finally notice that it was like an empty pit at this point, "When and what do they feed us?"
"Never or nothing, whichever you prefer..." the Pokèmon said before ending with another sigh.
"... What!?" Lucario gasped, his frustration being replaced with worry as he looked over the slender serpent, "How many days have you been here?"
"No clue. There's no 'day' or 'night' in here..." it said while lowering its upper body to the ground once more, "... Much too long. Much too long..."
They became silent after that, giving Lucario some time to check on his injuries. Quietly rustling through the fur on his chest, he noted several scars upon it, but was unsure which of them were new and which of them were old. It was as if some of his scars had been scarred!
Something felt amiss on his back, and reaching back he noticed that his backpack was gone. He thought that whoever brought him here must've taken it somewhere else. A feeling of utter dread struck him as he instantly looked down, but he became relieved to see that his pants were still there.
"... I miss the outside" the depressing creature suddenly said to itself, "Never thought that I would go from flying around the world to dying in a cage..."
"Hmm..." Lucario mumbled as something in the snake's previous statement perked his interest, "You... You can fly?"
"Yes" it answered with a nod, "I know it's rare for a Dragonair, but I've always been able to."
"Whoa..." Lucario said with amazement, "... Awesome!"
Lucario could hardly believe it until he tried to replace the giant emerald serpent in his memories with the sapphire one in front of him now. It wasn't long until the new thought was replaced with the image of himself soaring through the sky, riding a draconic steed with a shining armor and an impressive lance in his hands.
"Hey, can I ride you?" Lucario suddenly asked the Dragonair who was slightly taken aback by his boldness, "When we get out, that is! I've always wanted to be able to fly!"
"Oh..." the Dragonair said with disappointment, "Sorry, I don't think I can carry your weight."
"Give me a few weeks in here with no food and that won't be a problem..." Lucario muttered, his spirits sinking once more.
"You can ride me here anytime, you know..." the Dragonair whispered while trying to give off as seductive a look as she could muster with her waning energy. At the very least, she hoped she would not have to die as a virgin.
"Nah" Lucario replied while looking up to their confinement's ceiling which was only a few feet above their heads, "I'd rather wait until we get more room... You know, if we get out..."
They both slumped down to the floor, giving up on whatever they were planning at the moment as the reality of the situation sunk in once more. It slowly dawned on Lucario that even after all his effort of dodging both master trainers and law enforcement, he had ended up in the place he had been trying to avoid all this time. He wondered if the only difference between getting caught now and having gotten caught earlier was that he wouldn't have been captured alone, and wouldn't be sharing this cage with only the serpent and strange bug-type right now.
"Hey" Lucario said as he was unable to stop himself from feeling worried, "... Do you think we're going to die?"
"I hope not" the Dragonair answered with a distressed look while trying to reassure herself, "I have a little brother out there I need to get back to."
"Huh" Lucario exclaimed without knowing how to respond, "... Bummer. Or wait, maybe that's a good thing...?"
"... Our mother was very protective of us" the Dragonair continued while still keeping her chin on the ground, "He needs a big sister like me when it comes to sneaking outside, and..."
"Ah, so you're fe..." Lucario started, but stopped himself when he remembered that so far his inability to tell Pokèmon's genders had gotten him into nothing but trouble. Pissing off his only sentient cellmate seemed like a bad idea.
"... I guess this is the kind of thing mother used to warn me about..." the Dragonair whispered to herself, looking longingly beyond the steel bars.
The bars were set so tight that nothing short of liquid could escape the cage, yet were still strong enough to withstand anything she was able to conjure up. Every attempt at escape had left her with failure as well as a reduced amount of stamina, every ounce of which was now the only thing keeping her alive.
"What about you?" the Dragonair asked in yet another attempt to distract herself from her dying state, "Do you have anyone on the outside?"
"... No" is all Lucario had to say, choosing to ignore the many Pokèmon he had encountered on his journey as he had at one point or another abandoned them.
"Heh" the Dragonair exclaimed quietly, "Knew it the moment I saw you."
"... Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" Lucario asked, feeling insulted for reasons unknown to himself.
"Nothing bad, just..." she said while giving off a very faint smile, "... You've got that alpha male feel about you."
The Dragonair felt herself exhausted for some reason. Not having eaten anything for so long had left her barely able to hold on to life, which in itself was a struggle due to the deep hunger that seemed to slowly be shutting down her body. She had spent a very long time in the cage just lying on the floor without anyone to talk to. She had also given up hope and placed herself in a state of hibernation, lying around like a discarded tool, but seeing another Pokèmon like this had brought her back to who she once was.
"Us Pokèmon, huh..." she said and sighed longingly, "We make friends and try to raise a family only to get caught and used as playthings for some human..."
"... Humans aren't that bad" Lucario suddenly said while crossing his arms, "We're... They're intelligent and civilized."
"Too intelligent. Too civilized..." the Dragonair whispered while holding her voice steady to prevent a stutter, "... You'll see what I mean once the experimenting starts..."
Little by little the fear started coming back to her. The thought of ending her life in this dark room was enough to get her heart beating in desperation once more, her eyes tearing up as a reflex when she realized just how likely that scenario was becoming.
"I-I'm so scared!" she cried desperately before lounging against Lucario, "I... I don't want it to end this way! I want to see the light of day again!"
"Ugh!" Lucario exclaimed while getting ready to throw her off at a moment's notice should she attempt to coil herself around him any further, "Calm down! I don't need you getting all touchy-feely!" Lucario noticed that her skin felt a bit raspy, and noticed that she was actually covered by very tiny scales.
"I don't know what to do!" the Dragonair wailed in desperation, "We're trapped here, and we're gonna die!"
"Listen, I know it's a long shot..." Lucario said slowly as he began to feel empathy for his fellow captive, "But I know my way around humans. If there's a way out of here, I'll find it... And if not, I'm strong enough to make one!"
"... Empty words..." the Dragonair muttered with sadness before letting go of Lucario and sinking down to the floor, "... Still better than what that Ninjask is doing, I suppose..."
"... Well, I obviously can't guarantee his safety" Lucario said with a shrug, "But you? Yeah, sure, I'll include you in my escape."
As if on cue, the door to the room they were in slowly opened. The two of them perked up as the shadow of a human entered. It was now that Lucario realized just how poorly lighted the room was outside of their cage, and he could not make out any features of the human.
Lucario knew that the scientist could not have heard of his plans for escape, but started worrying slightly more when he saw the silhouette of a Pokèmon appearing behind him. He was unable to see just what kind of Pokèmon it was, but it was fairly large and had an aura so intense that it made him tremble slightly.
The closer the human got to the cage, the more visible he became. It was a man, dressed in a large white robe and wearing thick glasses. However, the rest of his appearance quickly slipped through Lucario's mind when the man suddenly pulled out a small key from under his robes.
"Get ready..." Lucario mumbled while eyeing the scientist intently, "Four-eyes here will be known as 'black-eyes' very soon..."
"... I believe subjugation is required" the man suddenly said, not letting Lucario's intentions go unnoticed.
"Ugh... If he says 'Hypnosis', I think I might go crazy" Lucario muttered with disdain while scanning the layout of the room in case he got the chance to make a hasty escape.
"Looks like this one might have some psychic abilities, after all..." the scientist said quietly with a melancholic expression, "Alakazam, use Hypnosis."
"... Wait, what!?" Lucario suddenly shouted as he realized that the scientist had replied to his comment, "Hey, did you just understand what I said!?"
"He's putting us to sleep..." the Dragonair whispered sadly with tears remaining in the corner of her eyes, "It's no use..."
"Like hell it is!" Lucario burst out as flashbacks from his earlier incapacitation struck him, "I've been hit by this shit so many times, I've built up a resistance to it! I won't go down this time!"
He stared angrily at the odd Pokèmon, before realizing that doing that might increase the attack's effect. He looked away with fists clenched and rage summoned up in his head, fighting against any drowsy feeling that might arise.
He did not feel the attack hit him, but noticed its effects after only a few seconds. He could actually feel his brain shutting down, thoughts taking a long time to connect and make sense. A few moments later he started lying down, having completely forgotten why he was fighting against his sleepiness.
Looking behind him, he saw the Dragonair's immobile body lying on the ground. An ominous feeling struck him, but was quickly overtaken by tiredness as his vision darkened even though his eyes were open, and his eyelids began to give way against his will...
When Lucario woke up, he was alone. Slowly rising to his feet while feeling a hammering headache, he noticed that he was still in the cage. Looking around he saw that his only company was the odd cocoon from earlier, still hugging the same corner with no signs of stopping its spastic movement.
"... Quit mocking me..." Lucario mumbled at it before clutching his forehead. No matter how much he resisted he had fallen asleep, and it filled him with shame as he remembered the promise he had made to the female snake.
He did not have to worry long. The door he had eyed earlier on suddenly opened as two men walked through it, carrying the Dragonair between them. Lucario saw his chance as one of them pulled out a key and unlocked the cage, and made a quick dash for them. However, his legs were still getting used to getting used, so they didn't quite register the commands from his brain and he stumbled forward.
"Here! Catch!" one of the men yelled mockingly as they threw the Dragonair at him, the light weight of the creature just barely giving him any recoil.
"Congrats!" the other man laughed while catching his breath, "Ya caught yerself a Pokèmon!"
Lucario decided that the best comeback would be to introduce the man's face to his fist and close relative elbow, but by the time he had pushed the Dragonair aside and started running the cage had been locked once more, the two men disappearing through the door they arrived from.
"DAMN IT!" Lucario howled in rage before punching the floor in frustration, "So damn close..."
The Dragonair lifted its head from the ground and looked at him with a dazed expression.
"Oh well, at least you're back" Lucario snickered while feeling somewhat relieved, "I thought I was going to be stuck alone with this chatterbox forever!"
He pointed at the bug Pokèmon sitting in the corner, but the Dragonair's eyes became transfixed upon his finger instead.
"Sorry, I guess I took a little nap..." Lucario said while scratching his head in embarrassment, "But the next time... I'll kick their asses for sure!"
The Dragonair still had the same frozen expression, before her eyes drifted back to the ground again.
"... It was bad, wasn't it?" Lucario asked, secretly getting a bit annoyed at not receiving an answer, "What happened?"
Again the Dragonair gave no response, and instead begun slithering backward.
"Hey..." Lucario mumbled as the ominous feeling from earlier arose once more, "Hey! Can you hear me?"
The Dragonair shuddered a bit before slumping down in the corner. A few moments later, it started shaking.
"HEY! Come on, quit messin' around! This isn't funny!" Lucario yelled as he moved towards the Dragonair and grabbed a hold of her. She continued shaking, making the raspy scaled cause a few scratches on the inside of Lucario's paws. He suddenly realized his fallacy in trying to shake some sense into her as a noise from behind distracted him. Looking around, he saw the bug Pokèmon sitting in its corner, giving off the same pained spastic movements as the Dragonair.
"Oh... Oh no..." Lucario said to himself while letting go of the Dragonair, who instantly curled herelf up before resuming her trembling, "... What did they do to you?" Just a few moments ago, this creature had poured her heart out to him, dreaming of being set free to reunite with her younger brother and mother. She had looked at him with weak yet hopeful eyes when he told her he would be able to save her...
All he saw in them now was utter agony. An unending haze of suffering. These eyes were unlike anything he had ever seen before, but seemed familiar somehow...
The shocked face of Rukario as he betrayed her.
The reflection of Zerobi's empty soul as he let her kill him.
The hateful glare of Ivy as all hope faded and they began their fight to the death.
The pained expression of Kabuta as she lost her arm as he lay useless on the ground.
The panicked stare of the small penguin as he left her to suffer the same fate he was now enduring.
The cold dead eyes of the snake that had relied on him, twisting and turning worse than her body as he sits there and can do nothing about it.
It filled him with wrath unlike any other he had felt before.
"HEY! ASSHOLES!" he yelled while punching the bar in front of him with all his might, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM!? I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU... YOU..."
The bar remained both intact and indifferent to his plight. Lucario felt the body in his grasp rock back and forth as he noticed his own fists were shaking in anger. Throwing all caution to the side, he summoned up his aura and focused it on his right hand before punching the steel bar once more.
Screaming in both pain and frustration while realizing that there was nothing left for him to try, he rammed his head into the hard material in front of him, immediately ceasing his opposition and ending it all.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Something hurts.
... Like HELL!
I'm lying down? Hey, I can't move! What the-
"Hey, he's waking up!" someone shouts with a frightened voice, "This is bad! He'll bleed out!"
Opening my eyes, I hastily look down on my own body to see what's hurting me. The sight is... Not pretty. My torso's broken, and... Yeah, it's my blood, alright...
... I'm dying. Damn, it hurts...
"Jirachi, use Hypnosis!" a somewhat familiar voice yells.
"What was that?" another familiar voice replies, "Hmm... I could'a sworn I heard something..."
"... Jirachi, I wish for you to use Hypnosis!" the other voice says, and I remember the angry trainer who in hindsight I probably should not have underestimated and instead snapped his neck the moment he appeared.
"Your wish is my command, master!" the voice belonging to the creature responsible for my death chimes. That dirty little shit, attacking when my guard was down! I swear... If I survive this... I'll...
...
Ahh... Wind whisks by me, soothing the pain of my wound...
... Not really, though. More like creeping into my body, and... Wait, where the hell am I now!?
"Holy shit, he's waking up again!" the voice from earlier says. I open my eyes, but all I see is a rapidly changing mixture of white and blue.
"A LEGENDARY couldn't keep him down!?" a new gruff voice shouts, "No choice! Tranquilizers!"
Tranquilizers!? Hell no, I hate those! Pain or not, just don't make me fall... Asleep... Again...
...
A bright light.
Death? Seems a bit... Familiar.
"Chansey!" a soft voice says with far too much worry in it for my tastes, "He's coming back to consciousness!"
STOP SAYING THAT! You know, death's starting to sound pretty sweet compared to this!
"We require heavy sedation!" another sweet voice says, "Everyone, use Hypnosis at once!"
I'm getting sick of this. Alright, my eyes are beginning to adjust... A hospital? Perfect. Sow me up and let's get the hell out of here.
"Don't hold back!" the first voice says, "He's built up a resistance against sleep!"
So give me a bloody medal for it. The 'bloody' part comes from hanging it around my neck in me current state, heh heh...
... I really am going to die? That sucks... Everything's... Slipping away...
...
Urr...
"He's... He's waking up!"
No shit. How long was I out this time?
"Hmm... They said he'd be out for a week."
... That long?
"S-Security! We've got a wild Pok-"
Oh, hey... My chest! It's... It's healed!
"Shut up! Throw him in the cage!"
UGH! Hey, careful! I'm still recovering...
"There, problem solved... If you think I'm losing my reputation over this mutt..."
Lying on the cold hard ground, Lucario heard the two people behind him walk away. He tried to get up, but his limbs felt they had not been used for days and were completely powerless. Before his vision was nothing but darkness, which did not dissipate even as his sight began to improve. Turning his head in confusion he saw a large door close not far away, but it was obscured by long and thick strands of grey.
For a moment he thought that like the rest of his body his eyes had been damaged, but shifting his head a little he saw that there were in fact several tall, solid objects between himself and the door. His sight focused with each passing moment until he was able to make out that the objects were bars, slowly realizing that he was viewing the inside of a cage.
Lowering his head down to the ground, Lucario felt torn between taking a nap and simply dying. However, his lamentations were cut short as a new voice came from in front of him and let him know that he was not alone in his cell.
"... Hello?" the voice came in front of him, "New guy?" Looking up from his pathetic state, he saw what was sharing this cell with him. At first he had trouble seeing where the elongated creature began and ended, but when it suddenly uncoiled itself he could see that it had the shape of a snake. Its body carried the color of that ocean, and it had a small horn protruding from its forehead.
Lucario instinctively sprung up and was about to back away before remembering that a snake probably wouldn't talk to him if it was going to attack him. The blue serpent closed its eyes and inhaled sharply, again worrying him that its feral behavior would lead to a fight.
"... A male" the azure Pokèmon said with a slightly mischievous tone before opening its eyes and looking at him, "Can you speak?"
"... Of course" Lucario answered in a cautious way.
"Then please do..." it said as something reminiscent of a frown appeared on its face, "I have been alone in here for so long..."
"..." Lucario said nothing before sitting down, the hint of genuine sadness in the snake's voice making him drop his guard, "... What're you in for?"
"... Getting caught...?" it replied with a confused voice, "What, are you in here for a reason?"
"Nah, same thing..." Lucario said with a shrug, happy to feel that his shoulders were back in place, "Do you know where we are?"
"No" the Pokèmon responded quickly while shaking its head slightly, seemingly trying to wake itself up, "But humans experiment with us, so don't expect mercy of any kind."
"Experiment..." Lucario repeated bitterly before remembering more of what the snake had just said, "... Us?"
Looking around the cage, Lucario saw a small creature attached to one of the corner bars. It looked like a cocooned insect of some sort, a shell with brown color and no remarkable features. Its eyes were closed, and it was shaking irregularly, creating a weak rattling sound against the steel.
"What the... What's up with him?" Lucario asked, the shaking of the Pokèmon looking both unnatural and painful.
"He's... Gone" the serpent sighed depressingly, "He's been sitting in that corner ever since I ended up here, never saying or doing anything."
The snake was now fully uncoiled and had its upper body effortlessly lifted from the ground. Lucario noticed a set of round ornaments attached under its chin as well as tail, reminding him of Zerobi's yellow jewel which she claimed to be organic. The thought of these balls being the same made him shudder.
"So..." the blue Pokèmon said slowly while subtly nudging closer to Lucario, "... You're male, huh?"
"Listen, I've seen enough prison movies to know where this is heading" Lucario growled as the snake's movements had not gone unnoticed, "I may look weakened, but don't try anything. I can either be your friend, or the guy who crushes your skull."
The snake suddenly reared back in terror, Lucario realizing what he had just said and wondering if he had misread the situation.
"... Sorry. I'm not in a good mood" Lucario said slowly while looking at the frightened Pokèmon.
"That's... Understandable" it replied while its expression calmed down a bit.
"Grah, I'm so hungry I could die!" Lucario suddenly burst out, his stomach growling and making him finally notice that it was like an empty pit at this point, "When and what do they feed us?"
"Never or nothing, whichever you prefer..." the Pokèmon said before ending with another sigh.
"... What!?" Lucario gasped, his frustration being replaced with worry as he looked over the slender serpent, "How many days have you been here?"
"No clue. There's no 'day' or 'night' in here..." it said while lowering its upper body to the ground once more, "... Much too long. Much too long..."
They became silent after that, giving Lucario some time to check on his injuries. Quietly rustling through the fur on his chest, he noted several scars upon it, but was unsure which of them were new and which of them were old. It was as if some of his scars had been scarred!
Something felt amiss on his back, and reaching back he noticed that his backpack was gone. He thought that whoever brought him here must've taken it somewhere else. A feeling of utter dread struck him as he instantly looked down, but he became relieved to see that his pants were still there.
"... I miss the outside" the depressing creature suddenly said to itself, "Never thought that I would go from flying around the world to dying in a cage..."
"Hmm..." Lucario mumbled as something in the snake's previous statement perked his interest, "You... You can fly?"
"Yes" it answered with a nod, "I know it's rare for a Dragonair, but I've always been able to."
"Whoa..." Lucario said with amazement, "... Awesome!"
Lucario could hardly believe it until he tried to replace the giant emerald serpent in his memories with the sapphire one in front of him now. It wasn't long until the new thought was replaced with the image of himself soaring through the sky, riding a draconic steed with a shining armor and an impressive lance in his hands.
"Hey, can I ride you?" Lucario suddenly asked the Dragonair who was slightly taken aback by his boldness, "When we get out, that is! I've always wanted to be able to fly!"
"Oh..." the Dragonair said with disappointment, "Sorry, I don't think I can carry your weight."
"Give me a few weeks in here with no food and that won't be a problem..." Lucario muttered, his spirits sinking once more.
"You can ride me here anytime, you know..." the Dragonair whispered while trying to give off as seductive a look as she could muster with her waning energy. At the very least, she hoped she would not have to die as a virgin.
"Nah" Lucario replied while looking up to their confinement's ceiling which was only a few feet above their heads, "I'd rather wait until we get more room... You know, if we get out..."
They both slumped down to the floor, giving up on whatever they were planning at the moment as the reality of the situation sunk in once more. It slowly dawned on Lucario that even after all his effort of dodging both master trainers and law enforcement, he had ended up in the place he had been trying to avoid all this time. He wondered if the only difference between getting caught now and having gotten caught earlier was that he wouldn't have been captured alone, and wouldn't be sharing this cage with only the serpent and strange bug-type right now.
"Hey" Lucario said as he was unable to stop himself from feeling worried, "... Do you think we're going to die?"
"I hope not" the Dragonair answered with a distressed look while trying to reassure herself, "I have a little brother out there I need to get back to."
"Huh" Lucario exclaimed without knowing how to respond, "... Bummer. Or wait, maybe that's a good thing...?"
"... Our mother was very protective of us" the Dragonair continued while still keeping her chin on the ground, "He needs a big sister like me when it comes to sneaking outside, and..."
"Ah, so you're fe..." Lucario started, but stopped himself when he remembered that so far his inability to tell Pokèmon's genders had gotten him into nothing but trouble. Pissing off his only sentient cellmate seemed like a bad idea.
"... I guess this is the kind of thing mother used to warn me about..." the Dragonair whispered to herself, looking longingly beyond the steel bars.
The bars were set so tight that nothing short of liquid could escape the cage, yet were still strong enough to withstand anything she was able to conjure up. Every attempt at escape had left her with failure as well as a reduced amount of stamina, every ounce of which was now the only thing keeping her alive.
"What about you?" the Dragonair asked in yet another attempt to distract herself from her dying state, "Do you have anyone on the outside?"
"... No" is all Lucario had to say, choosing to ignore the many Pokèmon he had encountered on his journey as he had at one point or another abandoned them.
"Heh" the Dragonair exclaimed quietly, "Knew it the moment I saw you."
"... Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" Lucario asked, feeling insulted for reasons unknown to himself.
"Nothing bad, just..." she said while giving off a very faint smile, "... You've got that alpha male feel about you."
The Dragonair felt herself exhausted for some reason. Not having eaten anything for so long had left her barely able to hold on to life, which in itself was a struggle due to the deep hunger that seemed to slowly be shutting down her body. She had spent a very long time in the cage just lying on the floor without anyone to talk to. She had also given up hope and placed herself in a state of hibernation, lying around like a discarded tool, but seeing another Pokèmon like this had brought her back to who she once was.
"Us Pokèmon, huh..." she said and sighed longingly, "We make friends and try to raise a family only to get caught and used as playthings for some human..."
"... Humans aren't that bad" Lucario suddenly said while crossing his arms, "We're... They're intelligent and civilized."
"Too intelligent. Too civilized..." the Dragonair whispered while holding her voice steady to prevent a stutter, "... You'll see what I mean once the experimenting starts..."
Little by little the fear started coming back to her. The thought of ending her life in this dark room was enough to get her heart beating in desperation once more, her eyes tearing up as a reflex when she realized just how likely that scenario was becoming.
"I-I'm so scared!" she cried desperately before lounging against Lucario, "I... I don't want it to end this way! I want to see the light of day again!"
"Ugh!" Lucario exclaimed while getting ready to throw her off at a moment's notice should she attempt to coil herself around him any further, "Calm down! I don't need you getting all touchy-feely!" Lucario noticed that her skin felt a bit raspy, and noticed that she was actually covered by very tiny scales.
"I don't know what to do!" the Dragonair wailed in desperation, "We're trapped here, and we're gonna die!"
"Listen, I know it's a long shot..." Lucario said slowly as he began to feel empathy for his fellow captive, "But I know my way around humans. If there's a way out of here, I'll find it... And if not, I'm strong enough to make one!"
"... Empty words..." the Dragonair muttered with sadness before letting go of Lucario and sinking down to the floor, "... Still better than what that Ninjask is doing, I suppose..."
"... Well, I obviously can't guarantee his safety" Lucario said with a shrug, "But you? Yeah, sure, I'll include you in my escape."
As if on cue, the door to the room they were in slowly opened. The two of them perked up as the shadow of a human entered. It was now that Lucario realized just how poorly lighted the room was outside of their cage, and he could not make out any features of the human.
Lucario knew that the scientist could not have heard of his plans for escape, but started worrying slightly more when he saw the silhouette of a Pokèmon appearing behind him. He was unable to see just what kind of Pokèmon it was, but it was fairly large and had an aura so intense that it made him tremble slightly.
The closer the human got to the cage, the more visible he became. It was a man, dressed in a large white robe and wearing thick glasses. However, the rest of his appearance quickly slipped through Lucario's mind when the man suddenly pulled out a small key from under his robes.
"Get ready..." Lucario mumbled while eyeing the scientist intently, "Four-eyes here will be known as 'black-eyes' very soon..."
"... I believe subjugation is required" the man suddenly said, not letting Lucario's intentions go unnoticed.
"Ugh... If he says 'Hypnosis', I think I might go crazy" Lucario muttered with disdain while scanning the layout of the room in case he got the chance to make a hasty escape.
"Looks like this one might have some psychic abilities, after all..." the scientist said quietly with a melancholic expression, "Alakazam, use Hypnosis."
"... Wait, what!?" Lucario suddenly shouted as he realized that the scientist had replied to his comment, "Hey, did you just understand what I said!?"
"He's putting us to sleep..." the Dragonair whispered sadly with tears remaining in the corner of her eyes, "It's no use..."
"Like hell it is!" Lucario burst out as flashbacks from his earlier incapacitation struck him, "I've been hit by this shit so many times, I've built up a resistance to it! I won't go down this time!"
He stared angrily at the odd Pokèmon, before realizing that doing that might increase the attack's effect. He looked away with fists clenched and rage summoned up in his head, fighting against any drowsy feeling that might arise.
He did not feel the attack hit him, but noticed its effects after only a few seconds. He could actually feel his brain shutting down, thoughts taking a long time to connect and make sense. A few moments later he started lying down, having completely forgotten why he was fighting against his sleepiness.
Looking behind him, he saw the Dragonair's immobile body lying on the ground. An ominous feeling struck him, but was quickly overtaken by tiredness as his vision darkened even though his eyes were open, and his eyelids began to give way against his will...
When Lucario woke up, he was alone. Slowly rising to his feet while feeling a hammering headache, he noticed that he was still in the cage. Looking around he saw that his only company was the odd cocoon from earlier, still hugging the same corner with no signs of stopping its spastic movement.
"... Quit mocking me..." Lucario mumbled at it before clutching his forehead. No matter how much he resisted he had fallen asleep, and it filled him with shame as he remembered the promise he had made to the female snake.
He did not have to worry long. The door he had eyed earlier on suddenly opened as two men walked through it, carrying the Dragonair between them. Lucario saw his chance as one of them pulled out a key and unlocked the cage, and made a quick dash for them. However, his legs were still getting used to getting used, so they didn't quite register the commands from his brain and he stumbled forward.
"Here! Catch!" one of the men yelled mockingly as they threw the Dragonair at him, the light weight of the creature just barely giving him any recoil.
"Congrats!" the other man laughed while catching his breath, "Ya caught yerself a Pokèmon!"
Lucario decided that the best comeback would be to introduce the man's face to his fist and close relative elbow, but by the time he had pushed the Dragonair aside and started running the cage had been locked once more, the two men disappearing through the door they arrived from.
"DAMN IT!" Lucario howled in rage before punching the floor in frustration, "So damn close..."
The Dragonair lifted its head from the ground and looked at him with a dazed expression.
"Oh well, at least you're back" Lucario snickered while feeling somewhat relieved, "I thought I was going to be stuck alone with this chatterbox forever!"
He pointed at the bug Pokèmon sitting in the corner, but the Dragonair's eyes became transfixed upon his finger instead.
"Sorry, I guess I took a little nap..." Lucario said while scratching his head in embarrassment, "But the next time... I'll kick their asses for sure!"
The Dragonair still had the same frozen expression, before her eyes drifted back to the ground again.
"... It was bad, wasn't it?" Lucario asked, secretly getting a bit annoyed at not receiving an answer, "What happened?"
Again the Dragonair gave no response, and instead begun slithering backward.
"Hey..." Lucario mumbled as the ominous feeling from earlier arose once more, "Hey! Can you hear me?"
The Dragonair shuddered a bit before slumping down in the corner. A few moments later, it started shaking.
"HEY! Come on, quit messin' around! This isn't funny!" Lucario yelled as he moved towards the Dragonair and grabbed a hold of her. She continued shaking, making the raspy scaled cause a few scratches on the inside of Lucario's paws. He suddenly realized his fallacy in trying to shake some sense into her as a noise from behind distracted him. Looking around, he saw the bug Pokèmon sitting in its corner, giving off the same pained spastic movements as the Dragonair.
"Oh... Oh no..." Lucario said to himself while letting go of the Dragonair, who instantly curled herelf up before resuming her trembling, "... What did they do to you?" Just a few moments ago, this creature had poured her heart out to him, dreaming of being set free to reunite with her younger brother and mother. She had looked at him with weak yet hopeful eyes when he told her he would be able to save her...
All he saw in them now was utter agony. An unending haze of suffering. These eyes were unlike anything he had ever seen before, but seemed familiar somehow...
The shocked face of Rukario as he betrayed her.
The reflection of Zerobi's empty soul as he let her kill him.
The hateful glare of Ivy as all hope faded and they began their fight to the death.
The pained expression of Kabuta as she lost her arm as he lay useless on the ground.
The panicked stare of the small penguin as he left her to suffer the same fate he was now enduring.
The cold dead eyes of the snake that had relied on him, twisting and turning worse than her body as he sits there and can do nothing about it.
It filled him with wrath unlike any other he had felt before.
"HEY! ASSHOLES!" he yelled while punching the bar in front of him with all his might, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM!? I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU... YOU..."
The bar remained both intact and indifferent to his plight. Lucario felt the body in his grasp rock back and forth as he noticed his own fists were shaking in anger. Throwing all caution to the side, he summoned up his aura and focused it on his right hand before punching the steel bar once more.
Screaming in both pain and frustration while realizing that there was nothing left for him to try, he rammed his head into the hard material in front of him, immediately ceasing his opposition and ending it all.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Chapter End Notes:
And now, for something completely different.
A: You know what this story needs? Beta-readers, checking up on future chapters before they're released. No pressure, I'll send the new chapters to you a few days before posting it, and you can read it and give pointers if you feel like it... Or not, and I'll just post it a while later. Heck, I'll even credit ya!
Just send me a mail and you're in. I'll send you the next chapter when it's complete. I know the story'll turn out miles better if you do!
B: I'm recording a voiced read of Mew's Christmas Carol. If you've got a mic, a good voice to match and, of course, the will to voice one of the characters... Nothing serious, just that it's more fun to have different voices. Besides, my "miniature pink cat" impersonation's getting rusty.
Again, send a mail and a voice sample. Recording a voice sample takes like 5 seconds if you use http://vocaroo.com/
C: Evo's Gate and Forever Legendary have been updated with pictures and other stuff. Just thought I'd mention that! The Dragonair and her entire family was featured in Forever Legendary, so there's always a reason to go back and read that.
Done.