Matthew King's Story

Mat

The first thing to hit his mind was a cold metallic sensation running up the nerves of his fingers. His hand brushed against the wall as he stirred, waking from the induced sleep he was forced into before they brought him here. He couldn't help but groan as the painfully bright lights stung his eyes which were still racing to adapt to this current lighting. His whole body felt like a wet sack of wheat, heavy and slumping with every motion as he rose from his resting position.

Okay... I don't know where I am. The first coherent thoughts to enter his brain since he rose from his slumber. The clinically white room reminded strongly of a sanitarium, sort of like the kind he'd seen on those serial tv dramas. Lets not be hasty. Maybe this is a jail cell? He looked around some more. He considered the possibility though this place looked like no jail cell he'd ever seen before. Even a mild mannered character like himself being on the poorer side had the misfortune of landing in a jail cell a couple times, mostly to be processed for loitering. Needless to say he's never woken up in one as he's no alcoholic. He wouldn't lie and say he's never drank but nothing past a little tipsy.

As it came to mind he checked for his pokemon, Odd. Of course his hand met his pockets only to be graced with a trace amount of pocket lint nowhere near large enough to hide an entire pokeball. It didn't really come as a surprise though. If he was either in a jail or a sanitarium it only made sense they'd take his pokemon. Why they brought him here, whoever these 'they' people might be, was still a mystery. His last memory of recollection was walking down the grassy side of a hill in some forest as a shortcut when everything suddenly got a lot more blurry. His head ached just trying to recall anything resembling specific details.


There were voices beyond his door. Others, scared and confused sounding. A scream cut through the ambient chatter, fading back through the sounds of a struggle before relative silence. Two silhouettes passed by the bars of his door window, a rather formidable looking door with solid bars keeping him in. Other voices started up too, people just trying to get someone's attention. Seemed like a reasonable step as any input on his situation would be better than what he currently had: The worn through and thread bare clothes he had been wearing throughout his journey prior to this unexpected abduction.

While he'd of enjoyed nothing more than getting more rest given how groggy he still felt the yearning for anything resembling context was powerful. He struggled to his feet, stretching them out as he covered a great big yawn. He braced himself against the bars of the cage, to hold himself up more than any other reason, and took a fair scan of the hallway outside his door. Others, folks who sounded no less confused than he did were asking anybody who'd lend an ear as to what was happening. Not really freaking out about himself quite yet he called out to the others trapped in similar looking prisons.

"Hey there. Anyone happen to know just what the heck is happening?" He asked, hoping for a straight answer from any of the other inmates.

When he opened his eyes the first thing Kyle saw was a completely white ceiling. He instinctively brought his hand to his head in an effort to ease the throbbing pain he felt. Before he did anything else he immediately brought his hands to his belt, he had to make sure he still had his Pokemon. Of course his friends were no where to be found. This made him quickly jump up from where he was laying. "No! My Pokemon are gone! What the he...." It was then he had finally, and fully noticed where he was.

He was stuck in a cell, a small, stark white cell, and as far as he knew he was completely alone without his trusted Pokemon. as concerned as he was for his Ninetails, and the rest of his team he couldn't help but place that concern to the side for the moment. It was like something out of a nightmare, and the walls soon appeared to be closing down on him. It was getting hard for him to breath. He let out a terrified scream, and rushed towards the bars of his horribly small, and cramped cell. He grabbed the bars, forcefully pulling, and pushing against the one thing keeping him stuck here in a vain attempt to escape, and once again be able to breathe. He let out another panicked scream. It wasn't like him to be so panicky, and fearful, but he couldn't stop himself as he was gripped by fear."Let me out, let me out! Where in the world am I! Let me out!"

When no answer came he slumped down on the ground by the bars, his eyes closed, trying to calm himself. He tried to take deep breaths,and think about the wide open space outside of wherever he was. To further take his mind off things he tried to make sense of what was going on. He had no idea where he was, or why he was here. He thought it was possible that whoever brought him here did so to try, and get a large ransom sum from his parents, but he quickly dismissed the thought. His parents would never part with their money just to bring him back. In fact they would likely welcome the fact that he was gone, permanently out of their hair, and no longer spending their money on what was considered by them to be a waste of time.

After a few moments his mind though still in a state of fear, was lucid, and clear enough to recognize voices form outside his cell. They were prisoners just like he was. Each of them just as confused and curious as to what was going on as he was. Though he felt bad for the others it was a small comfort to know that he wasn't the only one here. At least he wasn't totally alone.

Then he heard another voice, coming from near his cell. "Hey there. Anyone happen to know just what the heck is happening?" Kyle gave a sigh, and looked towards the man in he cell, he shook his head in the negative. Kyle had no idea why he was here, but none of the possibilities were very comforting. Though just because he was stuck didn't mean he couldn't communicate with the other prisoners, and besides talking to someone else would ease his mind. "No idea why we're here. I just woke up in this tiny cell. One thing I do know is that we have to find a way out here! This is horrible!" His voice was still slightly shaky but it was filled with much less fear than a few moments ago. "My name's Kyle Hawthorne by the way to anyone that's interested. We might as well get to know each other, for as long as we're here."

Mat

"No idea why we're here. I just woke up in this tiny cell. One thing I do know is that we have to find a way out here! This is horrible!"

Someone answered his question. Well, it wasn't much of an answer but a response nonetheless. There were a number of people speaking now. Their words were hard to distinguish from all the rest of the sounds of people yelling and calling for help. It was quite difficult for him to really talk to anyone. Something happened to drag his attention away from the noise however. Their keeper, or at least one of their keepers, appeared somehow before one of the cells. A mysterious woman in a brown cloak which covered her almost completely. The cloak seemed to conceal what looked roughly like a large upside-down clothes hangar in shape. What it was he couldn't really tell.

She had come to quell the plotting of the prisoner in the cell just a couple doors down from his on the opposite wall. The girl inside had been going on about something to do with a bobby pin. Mat just receded from view of the window in his door and slumped back against the wall on his bed panel. They got some pretty well hidden sentries here. I could of sworn I didn't see her approach before that girl tried to open her door through the bars in the window. He pondered while more people continued to talk between the cells while men trafficked prisoners up and down the halls.


After about roughly half a minute of sitting around he got bored so he stood back up again and went over to the window in his door to watch what was going on a bit more. More men were taking other prisoners out of their cells while the rest of his neighboring cell mates continued chatting about the confusing mess they had all found themselves stuck in. He didn't have much to offer on the matter.

"Since everyone's handing out their names I'm Mat. Nice to meet you all, shame about the steel bars and foot thick doors though." He tried to be friendly despite the looming shadow of what was being done to them hanging close over each of them. The last thing anyone needed right now was more screaming for help and cries of despair.

As Kyle sat in his cell he saw someone's arm bend around the corner of his cell. The man in the cell next to his introduced himself as Alexander Ashfist, and assured him that they would get out of this place, and that there was no reason to worry. It actually helped somewhat, he was confident that they would make it out of here somehow. Kyle resolved to try, and calm down, trying not to let his fear get the best of him. Kyle with a smile took the hand, and shook it. "I'm sure you're right. Gotta be optimistic in times like this, right?" There was no point in being doubtful about escaping, he just had to do his best to keep a clear head, and eventually he would find a way out. He'd be sure to come back for the others, and help them escape as well.

He watched through the bars of his cell, there was a mysterious girl, with a large sheet over her head carrying something large on her head, walking around the cells. She didn't seem to be the one in charge, but it was certainly her job to keep them from leaving. The girl known as Desiree seemed to try, and unlock her cell regardless, and Alexander seemed convinced they were here to be some kind of test subjects. The thought of being some kind of lab rat was not a pleasant one. Many of the others were taken, and undoubtedly had something happen to them. Kyle held out hope that he would escape before something happened to him as well.

Despite the strange girl paroling the cells Desiree still tried to escape making a run for it as soon as they came for her. She ran past his cell, and though he couldn't see much else, it was obvious that she failed, as he heard the sound of a dragging body. This was not good, there was no way out at this point, and trying to escape would bring nothing good. He let out a sigh. Escape it seems would take much longer than he thought it would.

Soon four men walked up to his cell, and unlocked the door. They walked towards him, clearly intending to take him somewhere. Kyle backed up somewhat, and threw his hands in the air as a gesture of surrender.[color=orange]"Well there's obviously no way out of here, and there's no point n resisting. I'll cooperate." the men looked towards the strange girl apparently looking for confirmation. They forcefully pulled Kyle out of the cell but instead of forcefully dragging him to wherever he was gonna go they allowed him to walk upright. Kyle breathed a sigh of relief, despite the circumstances he was just glad to be out of that horribly small cell. Two men positioned behind him, two in front to prevent him from escaping. They began to lead him to their destination, Kyle walking behind them. As he walked he saw inside some of the cells. Some were normal people, stuck against their will but otherwise unharmed. However other cells contained something less than human. They resembled Pokemon, one looking sort of like a Tangela, the other resembling a Ghastly, though they almost looked human in some ways. Whatever was going on here was not going to be good.

Soon they entered a room, in the center stood an operating table, and beside that stood some doctor, or researcher type people. At this point the guards had ceased being gentle, and forced him down on the table, forcefully strapping him down. An old doctor walked up to him with a needle, and a smile. "Good to see you've been cooperative. This shouldn't take long." Before Kyle could say anything the man plunged a needle into his vein, extracting his blood, then left the area. After what seemed like an agonizingly long time the man returned, and injected him with some kind of chemical. The needle itself didn't hurt, though shortly after he began to feel pain spread throughout his body, there was a pain starting in his head. He barely noticed when they took him off the table, and started carrying him back towards the cells. He grunted in pain as they carried him, throwing him in a new padded cell. Fortunately before he could panic about being back in such a small space he passed out.

Mat

One by one they were taken. Some fought, some tried to escape, others just went along peacefully. In the end they had all been taken down the same hall. In the end they all came back through to be shut in the cells down in the other block. He bid his time but it seemed rather inevitable. Why else would he be here if not for whatever purpose they had in store for these other folks.

Of course there were still more, others still waiting to be taken in. The closest occupied cells were two women, one with blonde hair and soft features, the other with black hair and a sharper look. Speaking to them was the guy from earlier, Kyle. Honestly past his explanation what more needed to be said? Mat was doing little more than leaning on the sill of the barred window to his door, awaiting the fate in store for each of them. He knew little of what was to become of him but from what he had seem from the others it wasn't going to be pretty. He briefly heard another person speak but the woman disappeared back behind the door before he could get a good look. Not that it mattered much, there were many faces here, all confused and many hurt.


Always too soon they came for him like they had for the others. Two large men unlocked the door, prepared for any number of desperate actions. Mat simply stepped between them, a depressed sigh escaping his lips as he frowned. "No need for any rough business, I get the picture." He stated. They took his arms anyways and brought him down the hall, Mat meeting the pace of his jailers so they didn't have to drag him. He cooperated mostly for his own sake, he'd of rather been walking any other direction than towards those two sterile white doors but it's not like he'd be going anywhere else even if he did try and slip their grips. In the end the only difference a struggle would yield would be the number of bruises he'd be going in with.

He passed through the doors and down a plain white hallway with numerous doors on either side, most of them operating rooms it seemed. In what felt like minutes when in reality it was more like thirty seconds they brought him to his operating room where they were ready for him. They had a table ready for him, straps for his limbs and head included. They walked him inside and sat him down on the table before laying him down so they could strap him in. Wrists tied, Ankles bound and a final strap firmly wrapped across his forehead, he was more than well enough restrained that the two men who had brought him were no longer necessary. Not that the men were all too necessary in the first place with him. He was less than keen on making an escape attempt given the security he's seen manned at each entrance he's passed by.


An older man in a white jacket approached him. The man had round glasses and a short beard but what really drew Mat's gaze was the needle in his hand. While not the largest most menacing needle out there something about needles always made Mat's skin crawl. "We'll need to draw a sample first." The doctor was already rolling his sleeve up. "Doesn't sound all too fun." Mat remarked, his feet twitching in fear of the needle's impending insertion. "It'll only be a prick." With that the doctor carefully inserted the needle so as to hit one of the veins in his arm. The empty glass container at the base of the needle filled with his blood as the doctor drew back the plunger. With grit teeth Mat endured the process, the pain not really as strong as he initially feared. Wasn't that always the case with things that look so menacing?

Once he had enough for processing the doctor withdrew the needle. Looking over the sample he had a faint smile as he retreated back to the back room. Mat laid there, his arm bleeding ever so slightly as the doctor had made no effort in bandaging the spot he drew his sample from. This was the least of Mat's concerns as the thought of what they were doing with his blood made him uncomforted. His eyes wandered the room, glancing over the various tools laying about. It seemed they could perform a large number of surgeries from here. I wonder how often they've needed to use most of those things...


Without any reference of time it seemed like forever before the doctor returned again. Given his situation he could of waited for much longer given what he was looking at. In the doctor's hands was another needle, this time a far larger one which was vastly more terrifying than the previous needle. Inside the base swam a clear looking fluid which held what looked like strange looking spores inside. Three or four spores which were a shade of blue so dark they looked black drifted idly within the solution. What was most alien about these strange things he couldn't possibly identify were the faint fibers just slightly poking out all around each spore, moving faintly. Whether they were moving because of the sloshing of the fluid or because they were alive was unknown. All Mat knew was that this whole scenario had gone from extremely unfortunate to outright madness.

"Interesting, most interesting indeed." The doctor remarked, approaching the side of mat's table. He was starting to sweat in terror of the idea of having those strange spores going inside him. "A-are those things going in my blood?" Given this was going to happen whether he liked it or not he figured he might as well start asking now since he might not be lucid enough to talk after those things go in. The wizened old doctor gave a bemused chuckle at this presumption. "No..."

With the hit of a switch the bed suddenly fell forward, the bottom hitting the center support. Mat was now upright, though his still couldn't touch the ground. He felt his weight slumping against the restraints which still left practically no room to squirm in given how firmly they were secured. "They're going in your bone." Mat couldn't see the cruel grin on the man's face given he was behind the table getting ready to begin insertion. Worse and worse yet still further down the rabbit hole he had yet to fall.


In the face of all the horrors and agonies he was going to suffer one would expect for him to panic, yell and curse the names of whoever was doing this to them as anyone else would. Though his knees shook with dreadful anticipation and the sweat dripping down his face was cold with fear he did no such thing. He bid his time showing an unprecedented level of gravitas even as a panel under his neck was opened up. All the while a simple thought had caught inside his head, refusing to leave him be.

"Do you know what time it is?" He asked the doctor before he could align the syringe. The doctor was struck with a quizzical expression. "It's eight thirty. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. Can't tell the time down here without a clock."

An odd exchange. It seemed rather out of place given it's mundanity. The doctor had to pause, if even for a moment. Sometimes it is easy for people to forget that their victims are just people.

...

Alas, it was a passing moment. Mat shuddered when something cold and wet touched his back. Something had been applied across his skin in a small circle. It was easy enough to guess what it might of been. "Oh good. Anesthetic."

"Yes. Wouldn't want you dying from shock now would we?" The doctor would've chuckled at this statement but somehow it didn't really seem appropriate. Regardless, it was time to get the main show started.


The patch on his back had grown numb by the time he felt the needle touch down. Thanks to the specialized grip on the syringe the doctor was able to drive the needle through the hard exterior all the way into the marrow with some upper body strength and a bit of twisting. Even with the anesthetic he felt a distant pain along with the mild sensation of having something moving around inside his spine. Depressing the plunger he solution along with the odd motes flowed into the marrow, mingling the moment it touched organic tissue.

Like that it was done. Slowly and delicately removing the bone syringe from his back the doctor made sure the wound wasn't leaking anything before bandaging his back up. Mat could hardly feel his back, the whole surface's nerves were dull. His limbs were limps as a result of the loss of ability to use his spine for now. All he could really muster was to weakly move his fingers and wiggle his toes. After that experience he felt largely drained ironically enough given the purpose of the operation was the opposite of draining.


After all that tension Mat wanted nothing more than to sleep. He rested on the table, wishing for little more than the opportunity to rest. He heard the door to the back room open up, this time a woman in a lab coat had stepped forward. She was carrying along with her a canister with a tube attached to a mask. "Here, something to help you along the way."

He didn't necessarily trust what they were going to have him breath but after letting them inject whatever those things were struggling now seemed redundant. Already a pain was starting to grow from his spine. Simply closing his eyes he tried to empty his mind and escape all the pain, all the tears, all the misery he was surrounded by. To escape this horrible place he cast his mind to somewhere, anywhere else. Thought's of Odd came into view as the mask slipped on, the gas filtering into his lungs. Wherever he was at that moment, he was with Odd. Any place was just fine when they were together.

The edges of his mouth formed into a small smile as he slipped out of consciousness. The nitrous oxide helped him pass out before the changes could begin. that way he couldn't feel the pain which would no doubt intensify through the early stages of this transformation he was about to undergo. They removed the mask and placed his slumbering form onto a patient transfer bed. With this small act of mercy they got a couple of assistants to wheel him down to the cell which he would be staying.


Passing the cells which used to neighbor his own the rest of those awaiting their trip down could see him rolling past their block and over to the block where they kept them post operation. When they arrived they eased his unconscious body from the transport to the cell's bed. It wasn't quite as uncomfortable as the previous cell's bed given how everything was padded for his safety but it sure wasn't going to get any positive reviews anytime soon. Still, anything was fine since he wasn't actually aware of anything happening around or to him. With that they shut and locked him in, leaving him to rest.

Meanwhile, the bio-mechanical cells in his spine were hard at work making major changes starting with the rest of his marrow.

Mat

To sleep. To dream. No steel nor man can keep the mind from escaping the confines of reality, however short it may last. In dreams we are all free.

But what of the flesh?

---

Mat slowly stirred to the sounds of the jail cells nearby. From the piercing screams to the banging of flesh on metal it was hard to shut out this constant stream of noise once the drugs were finally cycled out of his system. While he was not terribly dynamic when waking up he was especially slow to even rise to a sit given how he was just coming out of a drug induced nap. He reached and rubbed his back, feeling sore to the bone. Ow, that operation really did a number on me. I'm still feeling that drill doing it's dance in my skeleton.

Waving the pain off as a simple after-affect of having his spine drilled into he tried to stand up. He yawned deeply as he wearily rose to his feet. As he made his plodding way over the pain in his back slowly and steadily subsided. A pleasant turn in what was overall a pretty unpleasant day.


"I'd say we could still get out of here, but I don't think that would be a good idea at this point... At least we get free food."

"Free food sounds pretty good right now." He answered back to Desiree. Having stepped up to the window of his door now in the neighboring block where the subjects were kept post operation he leaned on the sill and scanned across the cells in the wall opposite from him, looking at the others kept here besides himself. With a somewhat clear view of his face others could see a change which was already underway which he was not exactly aware of.

His left eye had grown a bit larger while the right eye had shrunk somewhat. There was a definite disparity between the eyes which completely threw off the symmetry of his face. He had yet to discover this change as there was little physical difference to be felt and he couldn't see himself without a mirror.

He still had that rather casual friendly smile of his even despite what he's seen and endured. He tended not to really focus on negative matters, at least not when he had company. "I hope your pokemon are okay too. I'd be heart broken if they hurt my pal as well." He responded to Kyle's question, though not technically answering the question itself. While he knew little of the guy he could empathize with the feeling of missing one's pokemon. Rare were the times he and his long time companion were ever separated.


Something was running down his lip. He felt it trickle onto and down his arm. Looking down to investigate what was coming from his mouth he was met with a grave sight. Blood, a continuous flow was pouring from his mouth. His eyes widened at the sudden realization that there was something seriously wrong. He felt a strange and foreign sensation as his body felt tight, the blood within rising to find a way out.

Little did Mat know the mechanical cells were making space for themselves, not content with sharing room with his blood. With what felt like a pushing motion ripping through his body blood began to pour from his mouth, nose and ears. This all was punctuated with violent surges of pain in both his arms and legs, extending all the way up to the shoulders and hips. Unable to stand through the pain he vanished from view of the window, collapsing to the base of the door.

This spectacle was quite frightening to Mat. What few thoughts he could make out through the pain of it were ones of fear regarding just how bad it is to be losing this much blood. The blood that was flowing freely from his orifices was forming a pool which was expanding past the thin space beneath the door. He could of very well died as far as anyone outside would know given the amount of blood which was seeping from his cell into the hall.


With what little strength remained he propped his back against the door so his head could remain facing down. He feared that if he were to lay down either face up or down he'd wind up drowning in his own blood. As it was he couldn't even breath while the bright red fluid was being shoved out of his body. He could only hold his breath for up to a couple minutes tops and he hadn't had the foresight to take a deep breath before this sudden change occurred. All he could do was choke out more blood, the whole front of his body now completely soaked with it.

Dang. What a way to die.

His thoughts weren't rich with optimism as he started to asphyxiate. He was starting to lose consciousness, his eyes beginning to drift up. Just as the black curtains of unconsciousness were about to draw closed there was a distant choked gurgling sound. The blood was starting to let up, his lungs reflexively taking the opportunity to greedily suck in air at any cost. His whole body seized and shook as he coughed and gasped as he kept trying to draw breath while simultaneously forced to purge the blood that was getting caught up in the pull.


After what seemed like hours but in reality was little more than a couple minutes or so the blood had lessened down into a trickle. The cells inside him seemed pacified with this result, only occasionally moving again should blood get in where it's not wanted. From a river to a stream to a trickle to occasional spurts he was starting to pass this gruesome modification that his body was undergo. More than ever he wished they had saved more of that anesthetic for him as he was in severe pain.

His whole throat was rough and sore from the ordeal. The ends of his limbs were starting to feel numb. He wasn't sure if he could stand if he wanted to right now. He focused his efforts instead on calming his breathing, attempting to relax his body and get it back into a natural rhythm again.

"I am back, are any of you hungry I have a scone here and I cant eat anymore."

He heard Alexander offering his food over from his cell. Mat chuckled slightly before stopping quite fast as his chest panged with pain when he laughed. As hurt as he was there was little more he could do but wear a miserable frown. I don't think I've got much of an appetite considering how hard it's been just keeping blood down. Pathetic. He indulged in some self deprecation, in thought only of course as he had no intention of speaking given the condition his throat felt like it was in.

Such was life in his new prison.

Kyle couldn't help but smile when he saw that his optimism, actually seemed to make Helana feel better. He was more than glad that in such a dim situation he was able to provide someone with a sense of joy, no matter how fleeting or small it might have been. However she quickly went silent once he mentioned their Pokemon. He was about to say something, apologize for anything he might have said until he saw a group of people enter her cell. He growled at them, and from the sounds of things they didn't do much to her. That did little however to ease his worries.

From further down the hall he could hear Matt unusually clearly, in fact he could hear much of what was going on through the halls clearly. There seemed to be some kind of commotion going on further down between one of the workers, and one of the prisoners. Matt expressed hope that their Pokemon were alright, a sentiment Kyle wholeheartedly shared. he got to thinking about his team about his old friend Ninetails, and all the other Pokemon he had caught over the past two years. For a brief moment he had visions of his team in horrible conditions, of his friends being horribly abused for someone's sick amusement. He quickly pushed that from his mind however. He was certain that they were simply being stored in some room while being safely in their Pokeballs.

From further down the hall he heard Alexander announce his return, and offering a scone to anyone that would accept it. Kyle of course would have taken up the offer as he was still quiet hungry, though his cell was located farther away so Kyle simply didn't say anything. He opened up his mouth to say something, but he stopped as the pain in his spine intensified beyond belief.

Kyle let out painful yelp as he felt immense pressure emerge from the base of his spine. A tail covered in thick looking white fur had started to form, it looked small at the moment though it slowly continued to grow, tearing through his pants. Kyle slowly stared at it in a mixture of fear, and amazement. Examining it closely it seemed to be reminiscent of a Growlithe's tail. Is that what they did to him, turn him into some kind of Growlithe hybrid? Kyle had tried to think about this positively, he mentally began to tell himself that it wasn't so bad, that it could be worse. The whole time however his thoughts turned to his parents, and what they would say. He imagined the both of them peering over Kyle with their cold, judgmental eyes, looking down at their freak of a child. If he was an embarrassment to them before what would they think of him now? In a rather unchateristic rage he sent a fist flying towards his cell door. To his surprise his clenched fist was suddenly engulfed in flames. Though it did little to damage the door only managing to put a pathetically small scorch mark on the door."No, no, no, no! How the hell could they do this to us?" The optimism that was clear in his voice before soon gave way to a shaky distressed tone.

EEVEE: lands the finale blow on a Pikachu girl. she looks around at of the room to see if any are dead but they all were alive she sighing and turns into her normal Eevee form. Emily: "huh? what happened?" Dr. Red: "you won now please go back to your cell" Emily dose as told