Leo

I woke up slowly, shaking my head to rid myself of a heavy blanket of exhaustion. I felt something catch around my neck, but ignored it. I groaned when my head suddenly throbbed from a point centered on my forehead. I tried to lift my hand to rub the sore spot behind my ears, but quickly discovered my arms bound. The sharp pain in my wrists brought the previous night's events back with startling clarity. I closed my eyes, sifting my memories for an answer.

It was maybe four in the morning. My vigilance had proven unnecessary, for not even the wind stirred. I could see the light pink of morning sunshine between the branches of the pine. I sighed and let myself relax, slumping forward to get at least a few hours of much needed sleep. I heard laughing, soft and faint, that barely caught my attention. I looked up and then it hit me, literally.

'It' being Troy holding a baseball bat.

And now here I was. Chained to the floor, forced on my knees. I looked at my hands. Thick steel chain, too short to allow me to stand, hand cuffs, and rubber restraints. Smart. I couldn't see my neck, for obvious reasons, but it most likely had a rubber collar of some kind around it. My clothes were intact, for once. I didn't feel, or see, any injuries beyond my head, so I settled in to wait for someone to check up on me, as they always do. They never seem to think that the hostage just MIGHT take advantage of a lazy guard, just MIGHT get a hold of some keys, just MIGHT come kill them. Not my fault, but it definitely makes things easier for me.

I tried looking around for an advantage of any kind, but I could see nothing beyond a thick, red curtain. As I sat waiting, my mind began to speculate all the possible scenarios.

The curtain implied that they were either keeping me from seeing something, or keeping something from seeing me. My first guess was that they were auctioning me, but there is always so much noise at an auction. People chatting, bidding, the auctioneer himself. It would have been plainly obvious. But the fact they were using a curtain led me to believe they were hiding me from something or someone. If they wanted to keep me from seeing something, they could have thrown me in a cage, or a jail cell, but a curtain? It also showed class, because if these were simple people I was dealing with, they would have indeed, no matter what the reason, just thrown me in a cell. The curtain made things seem more important. Maybe I was at a circus, or a freak show? But, again, it was far too quiet. What else?

Hours passed as I let my mind wander to greater, and stranger, possibilities. Eventually I grew bored of it. Then I realized that through all my ideas I had used 'they,' and 'them.' I had no idea who 'they' were. I quickly latched on to the thought to keep my sanity.

Again I thought of the curtain. It implied that whoever had me wanted to put on a show. It had the inaudible message of power and arrogance. Yet the restraints showed they were cautious. I immediately thought of Giovanni. Troy and Nera did say he wanted me back. Won't he ever learn that he can't control genetic experiments? Besides Giovanni, though, it could be any number of powerful politicians wanting protection. I also couldn't leave Silph out. Those bastards will probably never stop looking for me.

My thoughts were free to roam, and more hours passed. They should have at least, by my reckoning. But, then again, I had no real way of telling time in my cloth prison. I was surprised when no one came to see me. It's like they didn't even care for me!

It wasn't for another few hours when they would send a guard. The man was heavy set. He had the basic black uniform, Kevlar vest, and even a nice hat. He wore a dark grimace, like he detested the very sight of me. His muscle mass gave the impression he was a stupid brute, but I could see the twinkle of intelligence in his eyes. I gave a big grin, trying to look funny, to unnerve him.

"Howdy, there." I laughed. "I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me. So, what's the word? Am I to be executed? Sold? Raped, hopefully not by you?" I laughed again. His disposition shifted from confident to confused. "What's the matter? Skitty got your tongue? Or did the higher ups say not to speak to me? Above your pay grade? I promise I won't tell." To prove it I locked my lips together tight. "Hmm, hm hm hmm, hmmmm?" I laughed again, louder this time. The big person took a step back, brushing the curtain.

"No... I am to bring you food." His voice shook slightly, and his face was pale. He pushed a hand behind the curtain and brought back a small cart. I was surprised to see more than bread and water. Trays were filled with fish, and steak, shellder, and caviare. There was a bottle of wine and two glasses. I faked a gasp of surprise and delight.

"Well, champ! Are you gonna eat dinner with me? That is so kind of you! You know, if you play your cards right, it may not have to be rape." I was making myself uncomfortable, but result was worth the sacrifice. The guard was sweating now, and unwilling to get to close to me.

"I'm not gay." He said simply. I grinned, snagging the chance to scare him more.

"Well, neither am I, but I'm special. Watch." I started to change myself. The image I had in mind was a tall, blond lady I had seen in Shield Town. She was pretty, but not beautiful. To make the image so, I added Aditi's curves. The effect was astonishing, or so I judged form the man's reaction. He jumped back several feet, hitting the curtain and nearly tripping. I tried to smile seductively. To scare the guy further, I didn't change my voice. When the attractive young woman spoke, it was my deep, man's voice. "Come here and feed me, I get so hungry." I licked my lips, still giving him a seductive stare. The man lasted no longer, he ran from out of the curtains. I smiled and changed back.

The whole thing left me feeling dirty. Mostly because it was just plain sick. The only problem was now I was left in an enclosed space, hungry, with a cart full of food in front of me. I sighed and continued to wait. It was only twenty minutes before another person came in, this time a woman. She was wearing a gray suit with matching mini-skirt. Pantyhose gave her legs an unnaturally dark shade that didn't match the rest of her skin. Her platinum blonde hair was pinned into a tight bun. She was young, maybe thirty, and wore a pair of simple, frame less glasses. She refused to smile as she dragged a metal chair in behind her. Sitting, she picked up a fork and began eating, right in front of me. I tried my original tactic, to unnerve her to the point of leaving, or maybe giving me food.

"Hello, beautiful. Sorry, but I believe you have mistaken that food for yours. You see, it was meant for me. Would you be so kind as to pass the lobster?" She only paused in her chewing to think for a moment, then she smiled an picked up the lobster. With a flick of her wrist she broke it's shell. She smiled wider and placed in on her plate. Taking a bite, she moaned at the taste. I frowned and nodded.

"I get it now. Silent torture. Your going to sit here and eat in front of me. Yes, I am hungry. No, I will not give in. Eventually I will escape. It is not a matter of if, but when. When I escape I will take you. I will take you to a desolate place, completely uninhabited by humans. There, I will rape, repeatedly. Then I will leave you for a week. You will get water, but not food. For, you see, the human body can only live for maybe three days without water, but it can go two weeks without food. I will give you water, but no food, for a week. Then I will do as your doing now. You will watch me eat. Then I will leave. At the end of the second week I will come back. I will give you Pokechow, just enough to fill your stomach, and I will eat in front of you again. Then I will do it again, and again, and again, until you die. So, for now, enjoy your meal." I grinned again, now more sadistic. The woman had stopped eating. Just like the man, she was pale, and I could see the fork, still in her grip, shaking slightly. Abruptly she stood and left.

"I'll see you later!" I called after her. I sighed. I didn't really mean what I was telling these people, but it was necessary to set them off balance, to give myself an edge. I looked up at the cart of food with longing. It was closer, but not close enough to reach. I sighed but settled in again.

Another ten minutes passed and a very angry man in a black suit came into the curtain. I grinned, and was about to launch into my spiel when he cut me off.

"How dare you! You think you can seduce my guards and threaten my agents? You have no right! I should kill you right now, but your worth more than it would cost to clean up the mess." He snorted when he finished, showing his disdain for me. I only grinned wider.

"And who do I have the pleasure of having an audience with?" He snorted again. He walked over to the food and threw a plate at me. It clattered to the ground, spilling the rice it held. I stared at it for a moment before shrugging and eating what had stayed on the plate. The man sat in the seat the woman had brought in.

"Shut up. I am the CEO of Silph, Richard Carlisle. You will treat me with the respect I have worked for and earned." I stopped eating and smiled, grains of white sticking to my cheeks.

"Oh, the head hancho, then?" I chuckled, "Good, I was planning on eliminating you eventually, this just makes it easier." Richard didn't even blink. He sighed and shook his head.

"You really don't understand your current situation, do you?" I nodded.

"Of course I do! I am chained down at the wrists with three inch steel chain, each wrist has a rubber lock to negate my electrical attacks. I am also wearing a collar, also rubber, by the feel of it. I am inside a curtain inside a ultra high security room, which is inside a Silph building somewhere. Nera and Troy Giagro brought me here as a way point on their course to Giovanni, who I hear is after me. You are attempting to keep me again. You want me to be the weapon you made me to be. And if that fails, you'll probably kill me. Was I right?" Richard chuckled and nodded.

"I must say, that is impressive, but you forgot the ten auto-turrets surrounding you should you attempt escape. Nera and Troy are dead, killed them when they brought you. And the collar neutralizes all pokemon attacks, not just your electric. That is also chained to the ground behind you, so you can't lunge at me. Did I forget anything?" He smiled with confidence. Grinning right back I nodded.

"You forgot that every creature has the capacity to grow, mentally and physically. I am stronger than before, as well as smarter, and I have learned a few new tricks. I know that those auto-turrets will be shut off so you can safely leave the room. They aren't a threat. I also know that they have a thirty second warm-up time, so even if you alerted the guards, I would have more than enough time to escape. Can I kill you now, or do want to continue this little game?" Richard smiled.

"You are indeed intelligent, but strong enough to break three inch reinforced steel chain? Doubtful."

"Not as I am, " I explained, "But I have learned much in my time away from you." I began to change. I decided on something intimidating. I changed into Groudon, full-size and powerful. As my arms grew the restraints broke, unable to contain my new mass. In my new shape I roared my triumph and looked down at the puny man. He was clapping. Slow and steady.

"Impressive, 02234. But you wouldn't dare." I narrowed my eyes and raised a massive claw above his head.

"Try me." I threatened, my voice was much deeper. A roaring thunderstorm. Richard lifted his left hand and snapped. I looked around as the curtain lifted. The room was solid gray concrete, a security room, as I had thought. Turrets were indeed spread around the room, set pointing towards me. I growled down at Richard, unimpressed. "I told you, your guns don't scare me." In response he merely pointed off to his right. I looked at him suspiciously, but followed his arm to a large window. Through it I could see nothing but black. I looked back at Richard, confused.

"Sorry," He said, "Light!" The blackness evaporated into a torture chamber. I had seen many of them in my time, but what I saw now drew my concentration and forced me back to my original state.

Lined up was my group. Terra, Raina, XiD, everyone was strapped down to a wooden table. I looked upon each of them, lingering longer on Terra. I stared into the cold grin of the CEO.

"You see, don't you?" He chuckled, "You will work for us, or we won't kill them."

"What do you mean by 'won't kill them'? That sounds pretty good to me." Richard just shook his head.

"We will torture them, endlessly. We will constantly switch out their torturers every four hours, so they can be tortured twenty-four hours a day. If you escape, and we decide torturing them isn't worth the effort, we will use them for our experiments. You know exactly how we experiment." His cold grin was disturbing me. I knew what he was talking about. He would hold good to his threats. I looked along the line of people again. As my eyes ran across XiD I froze.

I had already guessed this was a one sided mirror. I could see them, but they couldn't se me. But as I looked directly into XiD's eyes I thought otherwise. I stared at him for a long time before Richard snapped his finger, drawing my attention to him.

"It is one-sided. They can't see you." I looked back at XiD. He was smiling. Not his hurt filled, tortured-soul smile, but a mischievous, I-have-got-something-planned smile. I reached out mentally and immediately picked up his mind.

"Sneak is out." That was all he said before his head dropped and our link was severed. I thought about what he meant, and was given the answer almost immediately. An agent kicked in the door. He was dressed the same as the woman was, except with pants. His eyes were emotionless, and he wore a gray bandana that covered his hair and forehead. When he spoke, the monotone drone confirmed my suspicions.

"Sir, we have a matter that requires your attention." His gaze shifted between myself and the CEO. "Immediately." Sneak then left, not giving Richard the chance to object. He cursed under his breath and glared at me.

"Remember what I told you, Leo, or they will pay the price." He jabbed a finger in the windows direction. I growled, but said nothing. With a final snort of distaste he left. I immediately began working my wrists. There is a certain trick to shackles, first discovered and practiced by Harry Houdini, they don't automatically adjust. It basically means that if they fit your hands into them, you can get them out. It really isn't a problem for someone like me, because I was made strong, which in turn made me muscular. Having an extra layer of muscle can be helpful, because it means that my wrists are actually thicker, thick enough to be nearly the same size as my hands when they were compressed. With a lot of wiggling I had my right hand free, soon followed by my left. The heavy chains fell to the concrete with a heavy clunk. I reached up to my throat, feeling my way around the collar. It felt seamless, like it wasn't put there, it just was. I growled as I dug my hands under the metal, scratching the skin of my neck and limiting my oxygen. With a small grunt I snapped it. Sparks leaped between the broken ends as I tossed the device to the floor.

With that done, I looked around, at the floor. I assumed the automatic guns had been activated, and was looking for their trigger. Around where I was held there was a dark yellow circle. I knew this to be a safety zone. Prisoners were often thrown into these rooms and told to stand inside the circles. It was torture in the way that a person could either choose to stay in the confined space, or get shot to death. The circled marked the edges of the sentry guns' range. Another glance and I had the distance I was from each mounted gun. Focusing, I used agility to slow the world around me. Taking a deep breath I ran at the window. With the guns being slower than me, they didn't turn with me, as they were supposed to, but followed my trail. No matter how fast I was, bullets were still faster, so I had to be careful. I stood in front of the window for brief second. The guns pointed at me and fired a single shot before I was moving again. The combined ten shots caused spider web cracks to spread across the shiny glass surface. Needing no more from them, I ran around the circle of guns, pulling important cables, and shutting each of them down. When I finished I stood in the center of the room, facing the cracked glass.

I ran at it full force. Half-way there, I jumped and extended my leg. I drove the flying kick through the weakened glass and landed on the opposite side. The guard watching the room was surprised, just enough to allow me to knock him out with electricity before he raised an alarm. Everyone was surprised to see me, to say the least. I grinned wide, trying to set there worries at ease.

"Did ya miss me?" I asked nonchalantly as I undid their straps. When I released Terra she wrapped me in a warm hug. I would have stayed like that, but someone is a mood kill.

"Dijo dijo dijo, not that I object lovey-dovey shit in a hostile environment, but I do. Lets go." XiD grinned and held open the door like a valet. I clapped him on the shoulder as I walked by, silently thanking him for the tip-off about Sneak. I took the lead, taking our group through the maze of hallways.

I recognized the structure of the building, it's floor plan being very similar to the facility I had escaped, but I just assumed it was easier to use one design rather than hundreds. We were currently in the 'Persuasion Wing', where patients, and anybody captured were interrogated and tortured, then often killed. I had spent many hours in this wing, working, and knew my way to the central plaza. We passed several guards on the way through the hallways, but a cold glare, and Richard Carlisle's name, were enough to avoid questions.

When we reached the central plaza, basically a circle that several hallways connected too, I had a horrible feeling of deja vu. I could se scorch marks on the ground, and a large black ring coming from a door to my right. When I had entered I stopped dead in my tracks, forcing Terra and a few others to run into me.

"Leo?" Terra asked, "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost, and not XiD."

"Dijo dijo dijo, but seriously, what is it. I've never seen you so panicky." I looked back at them, but said nothing. I had nothing to say. With long strides I walked to the door with the scorch mark around it. I paused with my hand on the handle. I took a deep breath and thrust open the door.

When I looked in it was completely dark, an unnatural black not even found on moonless nights. Then a single beam of light illuminated a column. I screamed.

Terra

I was shaken awake by Leo, screaming his head off. I immediately leapt to my feet and looked around. I saw nothing under the branches of our tree shelter. I looked back at Leo, who had stopped screaming. He was holding his head in his hands, eyes wide, muttering something. I couldn't hear it, but I could tell it was the same thing. As I moved closer I could hear more clearly.

"He's back, he's alive. He's back, he's alive. He's back, he's alive." He just kept repeating it. Everyone else was awake now, too. They were all staring at Leo. He had never acted like this before. I had enough of it, I grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him toward me. His eyes refocused, and for a moment he had a look of sheer terror, then quiet fear.

"Leo" I said soothingly, "What is wrong? Who is back?" He stayed silent, staring past me. He was looking right at me, but he wasn't really seeing me. Suddenly, as if he had remembered something important, his had snapped towards me, his eyes refocused again. He looked at me with so much fright that he reminded me of a small child who just had a bad nightmare. The words that came out of his mouth were barely a whisper, but they chilled me like nothing else could.

"My father. My father is alive."Chapter End Notes:So, the rest of my news. I will being taking atwo week vacation starting tomorrow. Now, I know what your all thinking. "But, Gala, you just delayed another new chapter, how can you do this to us?" or something like that. Don't worry, though, this will be a working vacation. I promise you that I will have TWO new chapters on my return. I always do my best to keep my promises. Thanks for reading! Now go fucking review