Chapter 4: In Chains

  I began to slip out of sedation. As I opened my eye, light overwhelmed me. I blinked a few times to adjust. I was in some sort of small room. I appeared to be lying on a steel bed. I tried moving my arms, but realized that they were bound to the metal, as well as my legs. There were a couple of monitors to my left that displayed numerous bits of information. They were extremely complex and beyond my understanding.

  I heard the door open. Halvin and Luberon trudged into the room. Luberon began to examine the monitors and take notes on a clipboard. Halvin stood over me and glared.

  "You think you have the right to just kill one of my recruits and prance right out the door? You signed yourself, you belong to us. You have no free will, you're our property now." Halvin growled. My understanding of what it meant when someone raised their voice was beginning to break down.

  "Stevie wonders why you made your voice louder." I questioned.

  "You want to know why," Halvin snarled, traces of insanity in every word, "Halvin has raised his voice?" He clenched his teeth.

   "Stevie thinks that is what he asked." I replied.

   "Well, Halvin is very furious, and Halvin is very upset with you." Halvin seethed. Luberon glanced over at Halvin.

   "Halvin, calm down, we'll find a way to control him. For now I want you to explain to Stevie what our testing on him proved." Luberon commanded.

   "Fine," Halvin looked back at me and sighed, "We have found that you cannot feel pain, nor can you feel anything for that matter. You are able to regenerate when you are wounded. It appears that you do not breathe. It is also apparent that you seem to not feel emotion. Your grasp of expressions seems to be wavering as well."

   "We are going to begin further experiments today, hopefully you will cooperate." Luberon stated.

   Halvin then made his way over to the monitors and began to take notes alongside Luberon. They made no communication whatsoever, leaving the room stone silent except for the hum of the machinery. I looked my bindings. I started to struggle. Halvin and Luberon seemed to not notice my attempt to escape. Suddenly, power surged through me. It felt like adrenaline times ten thousand. I broke my bindings and stood up on the iron bed.

   Luberon and Halvin were looking now. They stood in awe at my impressive feat. I made straight for the door and found that I could knock it off its hinges. I bolted into the corridor and knocked out more doors. Each door seemed to lead to a room or another corridor. Halvin was coming at me, screeching out curses while Luberon chased me in a calmer manor.

  I eventually came to what appeared to be a vault door.

  "Don't let him get into that one!" yelped Halvin.

  Before anyone could stop me, I bashed open the door. Automatic lights began to glow dimly. When the lights came to their maximum brightness, I saw something.

  In chains before me, stood Lugia. Chains bound it to the floor. A steel muzzle was fastened tightly around its snout. It peered at me with some  recognition. I felt my power surge end. Without thinking, I lunged toward the beast and touched my hand to its chest. Purple aura began to rush around and cloak the Lugia. Within mere seconds, Lugia now was a dark purple color. Its chest, tail spikes, back spikes, and facial horns had taken on a silver coloration. Its eyes were now deep red. What really fascinated me though, was that I could see it in color.

  "How did he do that?" yelled Halvin.

  "Lugia must've had some shadow in it after purification. I guess it truly couldn't be completely purified." Luberon suggested.

   I decided that Lugia had wings, and it could fly me out of here, somehow. Luberon franticly waved his arms and took some Pokeballs from his coat.

  "These are yours, if you are going to try and escape, you should take these with you. Luberon said.

   I took the Pokeballs from him, and they began to glow with a faint shadowy aura.

   "Why'd you give them back to him?" asked Halvin.

   "He is our property, not just yours, so I can decide to give his Pokémon back. And it appears that he is about to escape. I believe no matter what, all people should have rights to their Pokémon." Luberon explained.

   "You always were the brother that was difficult to understand." muttered Halvin.

   I scrambled onto the back of Lugia. I ordered it to take flight. Lugia easily broke free of its chains, possibly due to its transformation. It began to fly into the ceiling, causing rubble to collapse to the floor below. We must have not been that far underground, as the ceiling broke easily. With a mighty beat of its wings, Lugia flew with me upon its back into the stormy black night.