//------------------------------// // Creeping Shadows and the Heart of Darkness // Story: A New Dimension, A New Threat // by ZeroChill //------------------------------// Fei kicked through the doors of the emergency room at H.O.R.S.E. with Rarity, Keldeo and As surrounding him. A gurney and a small group of Equusians garbed in yellow gloves and aqua blue surgical garbs met with their line of sights. A coffee brown-coated earth pony stallion ran over towards Fei and glanced towards Sophia. Seeing the Pokémon’s chest rising at a slow rate, an air of relief came over him. “I didn’t know what that creature was talking about, but you brought her here on time. We’ll take care of the rest from here.” He said. Fei lifted Sophia from his shoulders with his hands and laid her on the gurney by her left side. The rest of her teammates circled around Sophia’s blurry sight. “Make sure to stay strong Sophia. Remain strong for everyone’s sake.” Fei encouraged. “I’m not sure what to say, but know that I will always be grateful for saving my life. All I could do here is just hope for your best possible recovery. Please don’t disappoint..” Rarity said. “Show me just how quickly a Pokémon can get back on her feet Sophia. It only feels like yesterday that I’ve rediscovered that I was a Pokémon, so I want you to validate my point on how sturdy we are.” Keldeo stated. As smiled and brought her right front paw towards Sophia’s right cheek, stroking it with a gentle caress. “Make sure to get better. After all, you are one of my favorites to cuddle with.” She said with an uplifting tone. Hearing all of the distorted words of her comrades, a weak smile appeared on her face. “Everyone… thank you.” She beckoned out. "Seriously though, if you die, I am keeping Mono for myself." As whispered in her ear. The team of surgeons ran down the hallway with hurried steps and attached wires from below the gurney onto Sophia. Fei saw the surgeons take a sharp left and disappear. He dropped down onto his knees, brought his hands onto his eyes and began crying. “I’m so… worthless. I couldn’t even protect the life of my oldest friend.” He murmured to himself. Rarity walked up towards Fei and patted his right shoulder with a warm series of taps. “But Fei, you were the one that was able to bring Sophia here on time. I’m honestly not the fastest pony around, and Keldeo would have had difficulty repelling the enemy.” She reasoned. “Besides, Sophia’s going to be alright. The doctors at H.O.R.S.E. are really good at what they do. I can say from experience that their operating skills are top notch.” Slamming his right front hoof into his chest, Keldeo said. “I know, but I still can’t help but worry for her. She is practically my headstrong little sister! Of course I have to worry about her!” Fei shouted. “Did I not say that she would be alright?” Hearing a familiar voice behind them, the group turned around and set their eyes on the Absol. The Absol walked towards them with a stone-still expression on her face and slow-moving steps. Keldeo focused his sights on the Absol’s coat, picking up the stains of black blood on it. “Was the attack successfully routed?” He asked with a voice drenched in suspicion. The Absol gazed into Keldeo’s eyes, filling his soul with the thousands of screams from undead souls. A chill ran down Keldeo’s spine. “Yes.” Blinking once, the Absol responded. “For my end of the agreement, I will tell you who I am. My name is Sibyl. I was a seer who hails from Keldeo’s world. I can see the past, present, future and both the beginning and end of time.” As’s eyes narrowed upon hearing Sibyl’s words. She looked upon her with her pupils resonating in distrust. “You’re leaving out some important information Sibyl. You told us your world, but said ‘Keldeo’s world’. How do you even know Keldeo?” She said with suspicion in her tone. Keldeo’s ears perked up at the sound of As’s words. “Y-yeah! I have no memories of ever meeting a Pokémon like you. Plus, who’s to say that you didn’t come from Fei’s world or As’s world?” Sibyl shut her eyes and directed her face towards As’s direction. She opened her eyes, which radiated with the stillness of her heart. “The two of you bring up a good point. But then again, Rarity here can understand my words. Can she not?” Rarity took a step backwards and blinked her eyes once. “Umm… yes. I can understand your words as though you are speaking in my language.” She admitted. “Meanwhile, As and Fei are both wearing translators while Keldeo is not. This leads to the logical conclusion that I share in the same speaking ability as Keldeo. Therefore, I must come from his world.” Sibyl explained. “That’s a good point, but you still haven’t explained why you know our names.” As said. Sibyl walked down the hallway and focused on the path ahead. She paused in her steps and turned the direction of her head towards the group. “My abilities as a seer allow for me to know the names of those who are important in my visions. That is all that needs to be said. If you need me, I will be seeing how the operation is going.” Saying these words, Sibyl walked down the hallway and took the very left the surgeons went down. Fei sprinted ahead of the group and chased down Sibyl. Turning the corner the second the Absol passed through there, Fei’s eyes widened at the sudden disappearance of Sibyl. “But… how? There is nothing but walls down this corridor.” He muttered to himself. “She’s a seer who was able to defeat all her adversaries… just how powerful is she?” Wilhelm walked down a dim-lit corridor. Metallic bricks and pulsating lights made up the walls of the corridor. Frames depicting the images of splayed bodies with the center of their corpses sliced from the neck down hung upon the walls of the corridor. The incisions revealed fleshy veins, muscle and organs with a small coat of blood over their surface. A gnarled smile of pure delight formed from Wilhelm’s face. His eyes narrowed with glee. “It has happened… It has finally happened! I have my hands on a living, breathing subject not of any known world to investigate and experiment with!” He shouted. He shoved open a set of double doors at the end of the hallway, revealing a white area that with the pungent aroma of rubbing alcohol wafting through the air. Wilhelm’s eyes set themselves upon a silver tray filled with a wide assortment of knives and probing tools. His eyes scanned to the left, where an unsuited Mono lied upon a gurney with his ankles strapped upon its metal surface. Wilhelm walked upon the captured Pokémon, witnessing his unmoving body and his shifty eyes. He looked into his eyes, seeing the fear of a whimpering child fill within the Meowstic’s pupils. Wilhelm’s mouth salivated. He grabbed a set of gloves from his coat pocket and slipped them over his hands. “It seems that the paralyzing agent administered to you has rendered you all but helpless. This pleases me greatly.” Finishing his words, Wilhelm moved his right hand towards the tray and grasped a sharp scalpel in the set of tools. He moved his scalpel-wielding hand towards Mono’s lower left leg and began cutting at the edge of the foot. Feeling the sharp blade cut into his foot, Mono’s nerves screamed out in pain. He shut his eyelids to the point where they could rip off of his flesh. He felt the blade move up through his leg and muscles, bringing forth a rush of tears out of the ducts of his eyes. “A stimulus response from the cut I see. It seems that the paralyzing agent has not been set properly.” Noticing the movement of Mono’s eyes, Wilhelm stated. Feeling his heart pulse with joy, he continued the incision along Mono’s shin. “But, this allows me to test the limits of your pain tolerance!” Mono felt Wilhelm’s fingers dig along the fibrous meat of his leg and touching the bone underneath. Cutting into the meat around the fibula, Wilhelm pulled the bone out of Mono’s leg and brought it into the Meowstic’s sight. Mono’s eyes glimmered with anxiety and his heart exploded from the sight of it. Wilhelm moved his right hand over towards the tray, grabbing a sheet of sanding paper. He brought it over to the fibula and began rubbing it against the bone. Mono’s eyes strained from the searing pain. “It seems that your bones have some very sensitive nerve endings.” Lifting the sandpaper away from Mono’s fibula, Wilhelm said. “Regardless, I’ve seen all what I wanted to see from your lower legs. It’s time to move up to your knees!” Mono’s heart plummeted upon hearing Wilhelm’s words. Wilhelm cut up towards Mono’s upper leg, exposing the flesh and bone underneath the upper leg and knee. Wilhelm brought his gloved fingers around the cartilage of Mono’s knees, wiggling them forth. Mono shut his eyes from the awkward tingling that jolted up his spine from the movement. “You know, they say that the femur is the hardest bone in the body to break. Why don’t we have a test with your femur?” Wilhelm stated. The Van’Goth scientist brought his hands over the silver tray, grabbing a black mallet and silver nails. He set the edge of the nail into Mono’s femur and brought the mallet onto the head of the nail. He banged the mallet into the nail a few times, digging into the bone further. Mono felt his tongue salivate from the pain and his teeth freeze up with each strike. “Your femur has a surprising amount of resistance from bludgeoning strikes. I can see how your kind is able to endure so much in the battles against our organization.” With the finish of his words, Wilhelm removed his mallet and nail from Mono’s leg and brought a suture from the tray. He leaned towards Mono’s leg and began sewing together the muscles into the bones. With the muscles reattached to the bones and each other, Wilhelm sewed the flesh of Mono’s leg and looked into his eyes. “Allow me to rearrange my toolkit so that I may tackle on your torso and abdominal cavities next. Take this time as my mercy to you, because it is the only mercy you will get from me.” Wilhelm walked out of the room through the east set of doors, leaving Mono alone once more. His tears leaked onto the gurney underneath and his eyes resonated with his breaking spirit. A set of blue blankets draped along Sophia’s unconscious body, revealing only her shaved-off chest and abdomen. The team of surgeons eyed a display on the monitor and saw the number towards the right dipping by each second. “Her condition is worsening by each second. Will we really be able to save this Pokémon?” A black-feathered griffon among the group asked. “Her health is declining rapidly, but we can still save her if we act fast enough.” A mint blue-coated unicorn mare responded. She opened one of the black jars by her side. She levitated the contents from the jar, revealing a heart-shaped device that flashed with a light blue color. It sat still in its magical hold. “Because of that strange Pokémon, she was able to tell us the proper-sized organs for our patient here. We still have time, so let’s start the operation!” The brown-coated earth pony stallion declared. A gray-chitin changeling surgeon among the group grasped a scalpel with his right front hoof and brought it down towards Sophia’s chest. He started the incision from the base of the throat and brought the cut down to her abdomen, revealing the muscle and fat underneath the fur. A chestnut-coated doe grabbed a black-tipped bone saw and brought it down to the center of the exposed chest. The circular blade whirred to live and began cutting at the bone of the Sylveon until the ribcage split. “Patient’s heart is in sight. Prepare the clamps.” The doe stated. The yellow pegasus mare at the silver try rushed towards her and brought forth a pair of silver clamps. The unicorn surgeon levitated both clamps and affixed them onto Sophia’s chest flesh. The changeling surgeon eyed the small heart, whose contractions reduced over the span of seconds. The muscle of the heart decayed into a gray color. “The poison has destroyed a large majority of the receptors in the heart. Prepare the blood circulation machine, because I’m going to induce clinical death now.” He demanded. The yellow pegasus mare brought forth a large machine and unwound the clear tubes on its right side. The mare brought them towards the doe, who carried it over her hooves. The changeling brought a syringe filled with a gray liquid and injected it into the atrium of the heart. The heart stopped beating seconds after the injection. The changeling brought the scalpel to the aorta and cut around it. The doe brought the tube into the leaking artery and set a metal clip at its edge. The blood rushed into the tube and through the machine. “You better work on the other artery Scissor Leg. We need to set the tube into an output artery to circulate it.” The doe said. “I know Graceful Leap. I’m working on it. I still have to be mindful about the poison in our patient's system.” Cutting the other artery of the heart, Scissor Leg stated. Graceful Leap took another and affixed it into the other artery. She put a metal clip at its edge. The blood from the machine flowed out into the other tube and back through Sophia’s body. Scissor Leg carved the heart out of its veiny bindings and pulled it out with his gloved hooves. The earth pony stallion opened a vanilla-colored plastic bag labeled ‘Biological Waste’, allowing for Scissor Leg to drop the heart inside. “So Steel Scalpel, what does that Pokémon want with these organs?” Scissor Leg asked. Steel Scalpel zipped the bag shut and shook his head. “I am not sure. Whatever it is though, she made it seem like it was a case of life or death for everyone.” The unicorn mare levitated the cybernetic heart into the open chest cavity and brought an empty tube into it. She looked towards the pegasus mare. “I need you to open up valve A-8 Solar Wind. We’re ready to get this replacement heart beating.” “Can do Astral Heart!” Saluting with her left hoof and inputting a command into the machine, Solar Wind responded. The blood passed through the tube and into the cybernetic heart. The heart lit up with blue lights coursing through its ventricles. Scissor Leg and Graceful Leap both brought sutures in the area between the artery and the mechanical heart, sewing the beating organ as a part of the Sylveon. Astral Heart levitated the tubes out of the arteries, allowing for the mechanical heart to set. “The cybernetic heart has been set. Blood flow should continue as normal, but we still have the other organs to work on.” Scissor Leg said. “Regardless, just that heart transplant bought us enough time to work on the rest of her body. Those toxins running through her veins are unable to work on these parts.” Graceful Leap responded with a relieved smile. “I don’t know about you all, but I’m seriously having some really bad doubts about this whole procedure. H.O.R.S.E. made these organs with the intent of transforming these patients into living weapons. Does anyone see anything wrong with that at all?!” Solar Wind asked with an unsure tone. “I see the ethical issues behind it and the reasons why we’ve waited so long before doing this. But we don’t have any known compatible organs for our patient and this is the closest we can use to save the patient’s life. I swear on my name as Healthful Blade!” Pounding his chest with his right talons, Healthful Blade called out. He ran towards the set of jars to the right and unscrewed the next one. “Since they were affected by the administered serum, we’re transplanting the lungs next!” The bright lights filled Mono’s eyes for an eternity. His heart beat at an irregular rhythm from the lack of sound in the room. His body sweated with the fear of the unknown. He blinked three times, steadying his nerves. His ears perked up at the sound of the door swinging open. He rolled his eyes towards Wilhelm, who lugged in a large machine with flashing lights. Wilhelm walked towards Mono and wrapped his right hand around the Meowstic’s jaw. “Ah good. You have not passed out from the pain yet. You have already proven to be one of my stronger research subjects.” He jeered. “This machine will be used in the next phase of your vivisection. I will be having an up and close examination on the internal organs in your torso and abdomen.” Listening to the Van’Goth scientist’s words, a portion of Mono’s soul died. Wilhelm brought out a razor and began shaving off Mono’s dark fur from the chest down, exposing his pink flesh underneath. Mono felt a chill run down his bare skin. He then felt Wilhelm’s cold scalpel touch his skin and the splitting incision made into it. His eyelids clenched upon themselves, remaining strong against the painful invasion of his body. With the incision expanding down to his abdomen and prodding deeper into his muscle, Mono shouted within his mind. “Now, why must you have a strong reaction? The fun of exploring your body has only begun.” Wilhelm said with an eerie voice depraved of humanistic emotion. Mono felt Wilhelm’s fingers prod and maneuver through the inside of his meat, feeling the exterior of his sternum and the beating heart underneath. Each tap on Mono’s heart caused a myriad of palpitations. Wilhelm smiled. He tapped a series of buttons on the machine. A bone saw dropped from the slot in the center. He began sawing Mono’s sternum, driving Mono’s eyelids to erratic levels of wincing. He cut through the rib cage, allowing the heart to break free from its confines. “Finally… the heart. Now it’s time to see part of what makes this tick.” Wilhelm made a small cut around the left ventricle of Mono’s heart, breaking the pacing of the muscle’s beats. Wilhelm grasped two tongs from the tray and inserted them into the cut, pulling away the muscle and allowing the scientist a better view into the heart. Feeling Wilhelm’s fingers poke around the inside of his heart, a mixture of stabbing pain and strong nausea overcame Mono. Wilhelm brought his fingers out of Mono’s heart and grabbed his sutures. He began sewing the surface of the cut, sealing it until it feigned the appearance of never being penetrated through. A satisfied smile appeared on his face. “You definitely have a very active heart. It almost felt as though it could have exploded at any moment like a cat’s! I cannot wait to investigate more of your body and see what other marvelous functions are hidden away.” Wilhelm examined the coat on Mono’s body and hummed with curiosity abuzz. “I’m not sure exactly how you aliens work, but I have seen the males and females of a few of different species in your alien group, ranging from the different-sized feathers of those black weasels to practically none on those red crocodiles. But you and that white cat alien you call your sister have extreme differences in both appearance and moves. When I am finished with your torso and abdomen, I will be checking on your genitalia to see where those differences come from.” Mono’s face paled from Wilhelm’s words. His soul whimpered at the thought of having the Van’Goth scientist probe his most private areas. Wilhelm brought his fingers below Mono’s heart and onto Mono’s left lung. He squeezed the bottom end of it, making Mono’s eyes widened from the tight grip and the force of air that moves up his throat. Scissor Leg and Graceful Leap placed the final sutures onto Sophia’s flesh. Healthful Blade and Steel Scalpel finished setting ivory-colored metals into Sophia’s legs and body. Healthful Blade leaned away from Sophia’s body and wiped his brow. “And finished! That was a tedious operation.” He said with a cheerful voice. “Though we have already worked on Pokémon before, it still amazes me to see various differences among their inner workings. Hopefully, Sophia should begin recovering soon.” A frantic series of sharp beeps echoed in the team’s ears. Solar Wind eyed the heart monitor and gazed at the sudden flattening of the line. A panicked frown appeared on her face. “Her vitals are falling!” “What?!” Graceful Leap shouted. “But the heart was working just a minute ago! What happened?!” Scissor Leg frowned and looked down upon Sophia’s body. “Her body is rejecting the cybernetic transplants!” He exclaimed. “Rejecting?! But that’s impossible!” Astral Heart declared. “These organs were designed to be accepted by any body structure.” “Any body structure but a Pokémon’s it seems.” Heartful Blade said with a solemn tone. “No…” Graceful Leap uttered out with a despondent voice. Sibyl and Celestia walked into the operating room and gazed upon the frowning faces of the operating team. Celestia cuffed her right front hoof over her blue-masked mouth, garnering the attention of the team. “Council Lady Celestia! What are you doing here?!” Steel Scalpel asked with genuine surprise behind his tone. “I came to see how this critical operation is going at the request of Sibyl. I didn’t think much on her words, but there was a depth of gravity to them so I decided to check.” Celestia explained. “There was one important detail that I left out in the operation; Sophia’s body can and will reject the artificial organs and implants. With this in mind, we can still save her.” Sibyl stated. “How?! At this rate, she only has maybe a minute of life in her. We can’t possibly do another operation in that amount of time.” Steel Scalpel said. Sibyl gazed towards Celestia, who shut her eyes and let out a sad sigh. Her horn illuminated with a yellow light and a velvet purple-colored box levitated out of her mane and into Steel Scalpel’s airspace. The top of the box flipped open, revealing a single God Stone that sat upon its fleece. “I have tried to keep the state of these relics hidden from Neo Canterlot, but I cannot hide such artifacts from a seer. Tell me Steel Scalpel; are you familiar with the story of the God Stones?” “God Stones? What are those?” Celestia levitated the box towards her and walked over to Sophia’s head. The God Stone flew out of the box and hovered above Sophia’s unveiled head. “God Stones are miraculous objects that are said to be able to turn a mortal into a being with godlike power. It is rumored that these stones descended from the heavens as Deus’s gift to the world. With this power comes a terrible price; only those who come from a bloodline of holy nobility are able to use a God Stone’s power without ill effects. For those who are not from such a bloodline, they turns the being into a horrific monster.” She explained. “Horrific monster?!” Solar Wind shouted. “I don’t want to deal with that! I’m not even sure if such bloodlines exist within Pokémon!” Sibyl raised her right front foot into the air, holding the attention of everyone towards her. “I can assure you that Sophia does indeed come from such a bloodline. Besides, the God Stone would do nothing to a being nearing its deathbed unless if he or she was from a noble bloodline. Now Council Lady Celestia; place the God Stone upon Sophia and perform the miracle.” Celestia levitated the God Stone onto Sophia’s forehead, setting it within the flesh. The God Stone hummed and flashed with a sky blue color. Sophia’s coat flashed with brilliant lights that caused everyone in the operating room to shy their heads away and shield their eyes with their frontal appendages. The light died down and a series of stable beeps returned to the heart monitor. Solar Wind flew towards the monitors and examined them. Her eyes lit up with surprise. “That’s impossible! Her vitals are stabilizing!” She called out. The team of surgeons glanced upon Sophia and gawked at the changes of her body; the pink of her coat shifted into a sky blue and the cream color transmuted into a lighter shade of blue. Her multi-colored ribbons became a dark blue, and the pieces of ivory metal transmuted into form-fitting gray armor bound to her flesh and ebony drones on her legs. “Dear Deus… her colors have completely changed!” Healthful Blade stated with awe. A small smile appeared on Celestia’s face. She walked over towards Steel Scalpel and stood before his line of sight. “It seems that the God Stone has accepted Sophia as its user. She will be more than fine when she wakes up.” She assured. Steel Scalpel glanced upon Sophia and set his gaze back onto Celestia’s face. He raised his right eye in confusion. “This is beyond anything that any standard unicorn magic can do… I will take your word on it Council Lady, but we will keep a close eye on her to check her vitals.” He said with an unsure tone. Sibyl walked over to the bag of faulty organs and hooked the edge of the opening with her horn. “I will be taking these organs to Professor Pasque now. Do what you must with Sophia now.” Saying these words, she walked out of the operating room and turned the corner. “Why does she want a bag of bad organs for?” Solar Wind asked with a curious voice. Wilhelm tossed Mono into a dank room and shut the iron door. Mono blinked and began moving his head up towards the gate that sealed his entryway outside. He looked down upon his left leg, eyeing the mess of stitches sewn into it. He wiggled the leg and felt a jolt of sharp pain ride up his spine. He winced and eyed the mess of stitches revealed themselves on his torso and abdomen. He brought his right upper paw towards the back of his head, feeling the metal fibers bind his flesh. A lifeless frown formed on his face and his eyes became void of any vibrancy they once had. His fur appeared mangled and disjointed. He brought his left upper paw to his throat, which burned and swelled with inflamation. He looked upon the dark ceiling. “I thought life was beautiful…” He murmured with a raspy voice. “My mom had always told me how great life was. She told me that life was wonderful. Life can never be beautiful if something like that exists. What I went through…” Mono shut his eyes and tilted his head towards the ground. Bile hung from the edge of his mouth, hanging with the lifelessness his soul possessed. “My family will never come rescue me. As far as they are concerned, I am dead. Arceus, if you are capable of listening to me, grant me a request and let me die here. Leave my corpse rotting with the Van’Goth.” Mono looked around his surroundings with his ears perked, waiting for an answer of divinity to come. After a complete five minutes of looking around, nothing happened. His frown deepened with disappointment. “I guess you are not around either Arceus… I was a fool. Why…? Why must my life be filled with such suffering? Why did I lose my parents? Why was I turned into a Pokémon and cast into fighting a war? Why did I want to save my sister? Why was my body probed in the most painful and violating ways possible? Why can’t I die?” Mono clenched his eyelids together and began sniveling. His sore throat clenched with horrible pain. “Please kill me! I want to die! I don’t want to live in any inch of a super reality that has all of this happen to a single being. Just allow me to die!” He cried out. “Awww? Is the alien kitty cat feeling nihilistic?” Hearing Wilhelm’s voice from outside the door, Mono heart trembled. Seeing the door open and Wilhelm’s silhouette standing before the luminous hallway, Mono sidled his back against the wall and began shaking his head. “No! Get away from me!” He pleaded. Wilhelm grabbed Mono by the top of his head and lifted him off the ground. He felt Mono trying to wiggle free from his tight grasp. A sense of cruel satisfaction exploded within the chambers of his heart. “You thought what you went through was bad enough? You have not yet seen what I have planned for you!” He shouted with glee. “Please! I’ve had enough! I want it to stop! Just kill me! I have nothing else to live for!” Mono pleaded. “I will never be that merciful to you. As long as you are in my grasp, I will make every moment of your life a living hell!” With a bloodthirsty and borderline demonic tone, Wilhelm spat out in front of Mono’s face. Wilhelm moved Mono out of the room and into the light. Each whimpering cry brought forth a rise of joy out of Wilhelm’s chest. Sophia’s eyes opened, illuminating her vision to the blurry world around her. Each blink of her eyes brought forth further clarity of her sight. An exhausted groan fired out of her mouth. She looked towards her right side of the bed and set her sights on As, whose curled up form rose and fell with her sleeping breath. “Staying by my side all this time As? What a good friend.” She brought her left front leg and petted As on the top of her head. Seeing the ebony drones attached to her foot, her eyes widened with suspicion. She glanced towards her other front leg, eyeing the ebony drone attached to it as well. She sat up from the bed and began patting her body. No sensation of feeling came to her nerves and metallic clanging rung in her ears. “What?! What is this?!” Sophia shouted in panic. She leaped out of the bed and looked into the mirror. Her glowing red eyes reflected from the mirror. She glanced upon the color scheme of her mechanical body. She placed her right front paw on the mirror and her eyes welled up with tears. As stirred awake from her slumber and glanced towards Sophia with exhausted eyes. She stretched her back out and yawned. “I wasn’t planning on getting any more sleep anyways. And it looks and sounds like you discovered your new body.” She called out with a joking voice. Sophia turned around and flashed an evil stare into As’s eyes, chilling her soul to the very core. As took a step back on her bed. “I’m a mechanical abomination!” Sophia shouted. “Correction; you are a cute mechanical abomination.” As stated with a smug tone. Sophia pointed her right front leg towards As. The drone on her leg fired a pink-colored laser. As’s eyes widened and leaped away from the laser’s trajectory. The laser struck the wall and burned through it. “I didn’t even think that would work.” Sophia stated with surprise in her voice. “Easy where you’re firing that thing! Are you trying to kill me?!” As snapped back with an upset tone. Sophia lowered her eyelids and let out a soft sigh. “Sorry As. I didn’t mean to. I’m just a bit shocked and upset at the moment.” She admitted. “Why do I have a cybernetic body now? This is just too weird!” Steel Scalpel walked into the room in a white lab coat adorned upon him. He cleared his throat, garnering the attention of the sulking cyborg Sylveon. “I see you are up and active now Sophia.” Steel Scalpel said with a cheery tone. “How is your new body feeling?” Sophia narrowed her eyes and pointed her front right drone towards Steel Scalpel’s head. Steel Scalpel felt his heart plummet into the depths of fear and took a step back. Seeing the fear in the doctor’s eyes, Sophia frowned and put down her drone. “I’m sorry doctor. To be honest, I honestly hate this new body.” She admitted. “I can’t feel anything. But if I did, I would feel like a cold monster. It feels so unnatural. Just what is this body?” Steel Scalpel walked towards Sophia and pulled out a notepad from his coat pocket with his teeth. He placed the notepad on the ground and pushed it over to Sophia. Sophia gazed at the notepad and looked upon the intricate schematics of various organs and mechanical components. “You are the first official patient to have been given our cybernetic treatment option. Considering the kind of being you are and how quick the damage spread along your system, we had to resort to these measures just to keep you alive. The nature of the organs implanted within you counteract the poison spread through your bloodstream.” Steel Scalpel explained. Sophia flipped through the notes in the notepad and examined the small details in each page. With every bit of information that passes through her eyes, her frown deepens into a depression. “It says here that my organ system is a power source for all of my weapons and I need to change out the heart unit every ten months.” She said. “Ah that. You do not need to worry about future surgeries as you can simply open up your chest compartment and have a friend replace the heart with a new one.” Steel Scalpel eyed Sophia’s body posture, which switched into shying her head away from his direction and ducking it behind her shoulders. He frowned and walked over towards Sophia, patting the back of her neck. “Do not be sad about your fate Sophia. Just imagine getting to still be around the others who you love and care for while still being able to protect them. In fact, your power has exceeded our expectations!” “So I am but an experiment for your new weapons system?” Sophia said with a blatant tone and deadpan eyes. Steel Scalpel stared into Sophia’s eyes and felt a portion of his soul run away from him. He sprinted out of the room with the speed of light in his hooves. Seeing the distress in Sophia’s face, As walked over to her and wrapped her right front leg around her neck. “Regardless of whether you are natural or are a robot, you will always be Sophia to me. There’s nothing in the world that can change that.” As stated with a comforting tone. Sophia glanced towards As and smiled. “Thanks As. Really though, the biggest issue I have will be trying to explain this to Mono.” As’s eyes widened once more. She stepped away from Sophia and rubbed the right side of her neck. She turned her face away from Sophia. “Erm… let’s not talk about Mono right now.” With sweat dripping from her forehead, As said. “Why not?” Leaning her head and cocking it, Sophia asked. “Why should you question that when Fei wants to see how you are? After all, he is the one who was most worried about you.” As responded. Sophia’s eyes widened at the realization of As’s words. “By Arceus! You are right! I have to make sure that Fei is secure with knowing that I am alright.” Shouting these words, she ran out of the room and into the hallway. As wiped her forehead of the anxious sweat and exhaled a relieving breath. “I dodged a bullet there. There is no way I’m telling a walking weapon of mass destruction that her boyfriend was captured by the Van’Goth!” Wilhelm walked into a roundhouse-shaped room, where only a metallic board that suspended itself above the ground. He held Mono up towards the board, allowing him to view the board. “Is this your latest method of torturing me? It seems a bit tame compared to the vivisection.” Mono said with an unimpressed tone. Wilhelm smiled at the naivety of Mono’s words. He walked up to the face of the board and held Mono to the point where the Pokémon’s body met with the board’s in height. With Wilhelm turning his body around, Mono felt a strong gravitational force pulling him towards the board. Wilhelm let go of Mono. The board pulled Mono in with a strong snag, slamming his back onto the board. Mono winced from the sudden strike upon his back. “After what you will be through, you would be pleading for me to go back to vivisecting you.” Wilhelm said. “I have received permission from the Emperor himself to put you through this process!” “Process huh? I still think it is tame compared to what you did earlier to me.” Mono said with a borderline bored tone. “The vivisection is just for me to get a clear analysis of your body. By far, you have provided some incredibly strong results. Your pain tolerance is lower than expected, but you have a surprisingly strong body, resilient organ tissues and some powerful psychokinetic ability. I’ve even discovered the link between your psychic powers and male hormones!” Wilhelm shouted with glee. Mono shuddered at the memories of Wilhelm probing through his body. The images of seeing his intestines held before his eyes and his organ systems being cut into brought and experimented with forth a wave of nausea to him. “Please don’t bring that up. My stomach is still queasy from being cut into and filled with that weird chemical compound.” “I will not need to. Now tell me; what do you know of that perky pink filly with the powers that equate to those of a god?” Wilhelm asked with morbid curiosity in his voice. Mono’s lungs stopped from the discomfort overwhelming its insides. He rolled his eyes towards Wilhelm with unease. “You mean that filly who was using those abilities similar to how Shadow Pokémon from my world used them?” Mono asked with a slow voice. Wilhelm’s eyes jolted with an epiphany. He held his right hand’s index finger up and smiled. “So those experiments do have an official name! These ‘Shadow Pokémon’-like abilities you told me that the filly had were provided by the very same process that you are about to undergo.” Mono’s heart sunk into the depths of his uneasy stomach and the pupils of his eyes dilated to small dots. He shook his head with a frantic movement. “No! Please! Anything but that! I’d rather get vivisected again then turn into a Shadow Pokémon! Please! Don’t put me through that!” He pleaded. Wilhelm smirked at the panic in Mono’s words and movement. “So you do admit that the process you are going to be put through is worse than what you have already gone through!” He stated with joy. “Do not worry; out of ten thousand subjects, only that one filly survived the shadowfication process. That gives you a 99.99% chance of dying. You may be a part of the 00.01% of subjects that do survive however.” “Do you know what becoming a Shadow Pokémon entails to?! I’ll lose my heart, have my emotions stripped and become nothing but a killing machine writhing in eternal pain and suffering!” Mono shouted out. Wilhelm walked into a staircase outside of the room and entered within a room on a higher floor and looked down into the window. His right index finger hovered over a dark purple button on the dashboard. “But is that not the point of this process?” Wilhelm said with a smug tone. Wilhelm pressed the button, darkening the entire room. Shadowy bolts of electricity coursed through Mono’s body, showering his systems with burning pain on the microscopic level. He shouted out with absolute agony, bringing forth a wicked smile on Wilhelm’s face. Mono opened his eyes and found himself surrounded by pitch black darkness. Lith stood before his eyes, bringing forth a smile on his face. He ran towards her. “Lith! You’ve come to save me!” He stated with glee. Lith’s eyes formed an angry scowl on her face. She clenched her upper right paw and punched Mono across his face, knocking him down on the ground. Mono’s eyes jolted open with disappointment and betrayal. “Don’t be all buttery with me Mono. After all, it was your fault that Mom and Dad died!” Lith shouted. “W-w-what? What do you mean?” Mono asked with a stupefied tone. “Are you that much of an idiot?! Your crybaby attitude is what caused Mom and Dad to give you nothing but emotional support twenty four hours a day to the point where they were exhausted! Had you never been born, then I would still have my blood parents today!” Lith stated with burning animosity towards Mono. “Crybaby? But you know what I went through Lith. It’s not my fault that I had that happen to me.” With his voice breaking and his eyes on the verge of bursting into tears, Mono defended. Lith walked over towards Mono and brought her eyes over towards Mono’s eyes. She lifted her right lower leg above Mono’s back. “So now you make it about you?! You were always a selfish brother. I’ve hated you since the day we were both conceived in Mom’s womb. I wished that you got killed in that accident instead of Mom and Dad!” She shouted with a stomp between each word. “Stop Lith! I beg of you! It hurts!” Mono pleaded. “Are you kidding?! Do you know how long I wanted to do this to you? Nothing will cause me to stop! I can’t stop and I won’t stop!” Lith screamed. Mono’s heart cracked between each stomp. An eternity passed and Lith disappeared. The pain in Mono’s back subsided. He stood up from the ground and gazed forwards. Rondo, Stereo and Gnasher stood in his line of sight with scowls staring him down. “You are such a lousy and abusive caregiver!” Slashing Mono across the face with a Dragon Claw, Gnasher shouted. “You never give us what we want; freedom from your miserable paws!” Perching on Mono’s head and pecking his forehead, Rondo screeched. “Why did I ever think you would be a good person to be with? You are extremely selfish and think of only yourself.” Punching Mono across the face, Stereo stated. “Guys… please. No more. I don’t want to go through this anymore.” Shaking his right upper paw and frowning, Mono pleaded. “Guys huh? You see, this is why I hate you Mono. You are such a cowardly misogynist who thinks of nothing but himself!” Gnasher retaliated. “But I taught you all how to read, write and do math. I wanted to give you each the gift of being able to make your lives productive. How is that being selfish?” Mono reasoned. “Oh goodie! Reading and writing and math! When is a Pokémon like me ever going to use those things?!” Rondo jeered. “Why didn’t you train us to be killer weapons like other trainers? Because of you, I get laughed at by other Pokémon for my ability to do human forms of learning! You make me sick.” Stereo spat a bundle of spittle in Mono’s face and glared down on him. Mono blinked and felt his tears run down his cheek. “Stereo… you were always so mild. Why are you hurting me?” Mono asked with a heartbroken tone. “Because you are a miserable loser. No one likes you Mono. No one ever did.” Rondo, Stereo and Gnasher disappeared from Mono’s sight. Mono stood up from the ground, feeling more of his heart disappear than ever. Sophia appeared before his line of sight, smiling with an ounce of innocence behind her face. A wave of elation washed over Mono. “Sophia! Thank goodness.” Mono uttered out in relief. Sophia shut her eyes and began laughing. Mono raised his left eye in confusion before both eyes opened with realization. “If it isn’t the lab’s resident Poképhilliac! How does it feel to be a former human that likes going after Pokémon? Feels great, doesn’t it?” Sophia taunted. “But I’m not… what?!” Mono asked in confusion. “But I thought you loved me!” Sophia chuckled and walked towards Mono with her smile gnarled into a disturbing expression. She pushed Mono onto the ground with her right front leg and stood on top of him. “Did you really believe that?! The only reason why I even acknowledged your existence in the first place is because you are such a pitiful creature! You are merely the plaything of every cosmic entity out there, so I wanted to cheer you up by being around you. Let me tell you; worst decision ever! You actually loved me? You had feelings of intense romance for me? What kind of sicko are you?” She jeered. Hearing her words enter his mind, Mono’s eyes began watering once more. His mouth formed into a low frown. “But… I’m a Pokémon now.” He said. “And what? That makes me automatically want to be with you? Mono, do us all a favor and go kill yourself. You are worth less than the parasitic spores on a Parasect’s mushroom.” “Sophia. Why?” With his voice breaking up in complete misery, Mono asked. “Why did you become so cruel?” Sophia shut her eyes and folded her smile into a confident expression. “Oh, I’m not cruel. At least I’m not cruel towards actual living and breathing beings. You can’t even manage to do that right!” The echo of Sophia’s laughter lingered in the darkness after her disappearance. Mono lied on the ground with his throat burning and his tears pooling underneath him. “You know Mono, they’re right.” Mono’s ears shot up at the voice behind him. He sat up and turned around, revealing both Emilio and Samantha looking down upon him with dissonant smiles. “Mom? Dad?” He asked with an unsure tone. “Your mother is right Mono; you are just a selfish, abusive Poképhilliac that cries alot. We are actually quite embarrassed about bringing you into this world.” Emilio said with a tone void of any spite. “Who knew you would have grown up to be so pathetic? Maybe us dying happened so that we wouldn’t happen to be around to see such a worthless being grow into a perverted excuse for life.” Samantha said. Mono stood in place. His body became paralyzed from his parent’s words. He shook his head and frowned with denial. “It’s not true! You two would never say that about me!” “But that’s where you’re wrong Mono! Didn’t you know that you are an embarrassment to the proud Samers lineage? You are a disgusting freak of nature who is afraid of everything because of some little thing that happened in the past. What a joke!” Emilio responded. Both Emilio and Samantha began laughing at Mono, pointing their fingers towards him. A burning pain resonated within Mono’s heart, knocking him down onto his knees. He clenched his chest and let out a burst of broken laughter. “So this is it. Everyone hates me. Lith, my Pokémon, Sophia… even my own deceased parents. They’re right. I am but a weak, sniveling and selfish Poképhilliac who is nothing but a disgrace to the family.” Through his burst of laughter, Mono stated. Tears from his broken heart leaked through his laughter. “Somebody please kill me. I have nothing else to live for. Do anything to dull the pain in my heart.” “Do you accept the darkness in your heart Mono?” A disembodied voice called out from amidst the darkness. Mono blinked once and remained silent. He looked around the area, focusing his sights for the source of the voice. “Deus? Is that you Deus? Have you come to ease my pain?” Mono asked with a sliver of hope in his voice. “I have come to give you the powers necessary to fight against the pain in your heart but only if you give into the shadows. Tell me Mono; are you willing to give your life up to the darkness?” Deus asked. Mono nodded with a greedy movement of his head and a broken smile. “More than anything. I never want to feel this pain again!” He exclaimed. The darkness around Mono began converging into the chest of the Meowstic, filling it with pain and emptiness. Mono clutched his chest with his right upper paw and brought his left upper paw onto the ground, preventing him from falling over. His eyes hollowed out from any emotion he once had. The electricity shocking Mono in the test chamber subsided. Mono’s head hung off of his neck. Wilhelm pulled up several holograms detailing a silhouette of Mono and his vitals. He eyed the zero, which rose into higher numbers. Wilhelm smiled and broke his breathing with laughter in between. “He’s alive! He has survived the shadowfication process!” He cheered. He opened up his arms with wide acceptance and wore a large smile. “Our lord Deus; we shall celebrate this miracle by using him against his former allies!” Hearing Wilhelm’s words, Mono’s eyes opened up. The pupils of his eyes resonated with pure darkness and a shadowy aura surrounded him. A deathly growl emerged from his mouth.