*Sombra's POV*

"Hey..." a strong, yet pained voice urges me.

...

Ungh... It hurts... My entire body hurts... I don't even think I could move if I wanted to.

The events of last night quickly flash through my head like the alarum bells of the grim reaper.

My father and Pyre- well, I've reached the town, so I guess I was faithful to them. Hestia- I never really did escape, did I? So I let her down. But that strange man and his Pokemon... Just who are they...?

A short, raspy breath escapes my throat, and I struggle to open one eye. Feeling begins to return to my emaciated limbs, but that sensation quickly becomes pain when I realize that I'm tied down, tightly, yet not enough to cause major discomfort, with two ropes on each leg to a large wooden table. In front of me stands the man with the metal arm, as well his Toxicroak. Luckily enough, whatever substance the Toxicroak had plunged into my chest along with its claw seems to be long gone from my internal system. Speaking of my chest, the entire area of bloodied black fur has been replaced by an array of fuzzy black bandages, camouflaged in such a way that I barely even notice that they're there.

What... Is...

I try to move a paw, wanting to touch the mysterious substance, to see if that really was just a bandage. Something about it just seems so real that I can't help but feel that there's something more than meets the eye afoot. I attempt to crane my head to view more of the room around me, but even my neck is encapsulated by ropes that I can barely feel. All I can see in my narrowed field of vision is the man and his Pokemon, as well as a small wooden desk behind the two figures. What's on the desk, I have no idea.

"Ahh," the man's lips move as if by magic. His lifeless expression only reinforces the fact that I feel, well, dead.

"You're awake," he muses, pacing around me expectantly,

"You know, for a second, I didn't think that you would have survived that. My Toxicroak tends to be a little, let's say, impulsive... And his Poison Jab is almost always too much for any Pokemon's internals. First, I would like to apologize for my Pokemon's hasty actions. Second, I want to expressed my deepest gratitudes that you are still alive. It truly is a blessing to see a Pokemon of your species in this town."

"If you're so grateful, then why the restraints?!" I respond,

"What could possibly have possessed you to do this to me?"

The man seems to be taken aback, like I had just hurt his fragile feelings.

"You seem to have already seen your chest wound, and what I've done to fix it. Operations like that aren't the easiest thing in the world to accomplish, you know. When I began to fill in the skin around your wound, your body started moving subconsciously. I had to bind you so that I could work without seriously hurting you..."

"So can you let me go now? I'm definitely grateful for what you've done for me, but I'd rather not be bound up like this..." I beg, trying to sound as calm as possible, even though my heart is, in reality beating a mile a minute. The man chuckles.

"Ahaha, you're an impulsive one, aren't you?!" he laughs,

"While I've repaired you physically, I still need to make sure that, mentally, you're still in one piece."

"And just how are you planning to do that?!" I snap back.

I'm beginning to grow anxious of this man and what he plans to do with me; it looks like my inner turmoil is beginning to show in what I tell the man. But that doesn't matter to me. He may have healed my wounds, but that doesn't make him any less threatening. He's a human, so I see no reason to trust him.

"I am going to ask you a few questions," the man continues,

"Ranging from basic trivia about yourself to a virtual reality program made to test your combat sense. Is that permissible?"

Do I really have a choice? What if I say, "No"?... Well, I don't think angering this man is a particularly good idea, so I might as well let him quiz me for now. What's the worst that could happen? I think to myself.

In a few minutes, I would come to regret that thought and its complementary mindset.

"I don't see why not..." I deadpan. While I don't trust this human at all, I have a feeling that I can use him for information once I'm done with his tests.

"Ah, good. Then we shall begin," the man says, leaning down and stroking the fur on my head. His hand is cold and wrinkly, like it's been submerged in water for a few hours.

"Before we begin, I might as well introduce myself. My name is Percy- a humble Scientist who works here in Geosenge Town. Where are we right now? Well, I would show you, but I don't think you would understand it. However, after we are done testing, you are welcome to explore my home."

Explore...? Why would I need to explore...? I begin to think, but Percy continues his lecture before my mind can finish its thought.

"First, do you remember your name?" he asks. I nod and respond simply,

"My name is Sombra."

Percy looks at me with concern for a second, turns to his Toxicroak behind him, who hands the man a clipboard. He then begins to write what I can only assume to be his thoughts on it with a small metal object.

"Next," he muses, his words moving as fast as the object in his hand,

"Your appearance tells me that you are an Umbreon, a son of two others. Tell me, do you know anything about your parents?"

Now is my chance to confuse him without angering him, I think defiantly,

I might even garner his pity for a quicker release and the "exploration" that I'm authorized to do after all this.

I look Percy in the face and calmly state,

"They're both dead."

He looks at me like I had just sunk my claws through his heart.

"Poor thing," he consoles me, stroking my head once more,

"Death is such a cruel mistress, isn't she? She took my beloved away from me, and she did the same for you... I will not press the issue any further, nor shall I ask you any more questions. I understand how it feels to lose family to Death's insatiable greed."

"Does that mean I can go exploring now?" I ask, hopefully. Percy shakes his head, and his glasses slide down his face.

"Not yet," he says,

"I am still going to test your combat sense. Like I said before, this will be a virtual reality simulation. That means, whatever happens, always know that it isn't real, no matter how real it seems to be. Got it?"

Umm...

I can't quite figure out how to respond, so I just whisper,

"Sure, just make it quick..."

Percival smiles at me, then he turns to his Toxicroak once more. This time, the outstretched blue fingers hand him a small square object, not much bigger than my paw, with a large red circle in the middle of it. He then turns back to me and undoes my bonds. At once, circulation begins to return to my tired veins, and I sigh in relief, stretching myself on the table accordingly. However, my eyes never lift themselves from the small metal box Percy had received from his Pokemon.

"What is... What is that? What are you going to do with that?!" I demand. My initial fears are returning, upon seeing the unfamiliar device. Percy seems taken aback at the mistrust apparent in my voice.

"Like I said, I will be launching a virtual reality program to test your combat sense. This object in my hand is a remote control, one of many objects that we Scientists use to aid us in our research. When I press the red button, it will begin the program. Are you ready?"

It's now or never... I think to myself, so I nod.

"Good luck, Sombra, and don't forget that this is virtual reality," Percy says slowly, before firmly pressing the large button with two fingers, and the ensuing bright flash of light blinds me.

...

Nervously, I slowly open one eye, and I'm shocked to see that my surroundings are completely and utterly different. Gone is the dark room, the small table, and the ropes that had restrained me; in their place: a forest, through and through, lively with all sorts of greens, yellows, reds, and every other color imaginable. On top of that, a bright full moon hangs over my head, illuminating the night sky through the canopy of trees- giving me a sense of calmness and direction. Stars twinkle in their places like blazing dancers, and the nocturnal comeuppance of the forest makes its presence known through various hoots, caws, and howls. Among them is a call that I recognize, that of an Arcanine. The sound immediately reminds me of Pyre, and I almost break down crying on the soft grass underpaw, but I force myself to pay attention to the underbrush around me.

Percy said that this "virtual reality" would be to test my combat sense, didn't he? So I've got to be on my guard, or something here will be feasting on me. But, one thing perplexes me- what did he mean by this entire place being fake? It looks so... so real!

I walk over to the nearest tree and place my paw on it. The bark is cold to the touch, which makes sense during the night when the temperature drops.

This tree feels real enough to me... How is it fake, I wonder...

I survey the tree, 'round and 'round, for a few minutes, but I can't wrap my head around it supposedly being fake. In every way, in the bark, in the flowering branches, in the Pidgey bird-nest fifteen feet up, it's all real to me. My stomach makes a few gurgling sounds, signaling to me that I'm already hungry. I wonder if that feeling is "virtual," as well.

"Percy!" I hesitantly shout, hoping that, somehow, he can hear me and advise me accordingly, perhaps on the distinction between real and fake.

I wait a few scintillating seconds, but the only response that I get is the form of a large arachnoid Ariados purposefully skittering along the ground behind me. It gives me an odd gaze for a moment- only a small fraction of a second- but it's definitely there.

Its eyes... I ponder,

What is it that I see in its eyes...? Is that... fear? No... it can't be. What could a predator like that possibly be scared of?! It could probably kill and eat me if it wanted to, but, if it's in fear of something else, there's definitely another predator here. Chances are that I'm not going to like meeting it.

With that thought embedded deep in my subconscious, I break into a sprint through the forest, and the sudden thrill reminds me of the time that I was just on death row; even though the possibility is always there for a scavenger like me, I'm much more abled now that Percy had repaired my damaged skin.

Speaking of Percy's healing, my chest, where the wound had been gushing blood and throbbing, now begins to feel incredibly warm, almost like my body had come to accept Percy's black bandages as part of its own.

Interesting... I muse,

What could his substitute for skin possibly be made out of that my body wouldn't think it's foreign in the slightest? But I can't really worry about that right now. I've got to stay on my...

My train of thought stops abruptly when my eye catches a glimpse of something sparkling on the green horizon about a dozen yards or so away, and my tongue immediately lolls out of my mouth. A gurgling sound, like that of a rushing water,can be heard from the same direction.

That's... water! It's gotta be!

Immediately, I feel an overpowering thirst practically drawing me to the sparkle, and I quickly make a detour to get a drink. As I run, the thought of the refreshing, cool liquid running over my dry throat fills me with hope, and I pick up speed in pursuit of my target.

...

A few seconds later, I stop running, and, with awe written all over my face, I survey the clearing that I had just found. A large patch of flowers surrounds a small pool of water, while trees serve as a veil from the evils of the forest on all sides of me. Meanwhile, the full moon above me reflects beautifully off the surface of the water, spilling its white light every which way. I follow one of the rays with my eye, and what I see astounds me. There, connected to the pool of water by a cascade of water that roars as it falls into the lagoon below.

Wow... is that...? It's... it's a waterfall! It's beautiful!

Thankful for respite, I practically run over to the water and bury my face in the blue liquid, gulping down as much of the precious substance as I can hold. The cold water, exactly as I had hoped, feels like a blessing from heaven when it washes over my parched throat. In retrospect, it feels so good that I almost shed a tear of remorse when I stop drinking and lift my head from the water. A small smile crosses its way across my face.

For a virtual reality that's supposed to "test my combat sense," I still can't get over how peaceful that this whole area is. And, isn't this place supposed to be fake? How come there's real water that really satisfies my thirst? Something's not right about this, I can feel it...

As if on cue, the loud gurgling sound reaches my ears once again, and my gaze narrows. My fur stands on end, and I realize, immediately...

That sound isn't coming from the water. And there's only one other possible thing that could make a noise like that- a hungry stomach.

I look down at my chest, expecting to hear the chorus of gurgling again. Three seconds later, I hear the sound again, but it doesn't come from my own stomach like I had hoped.

Without thinking, I whirl around, and I find myself face-to-face with an enormous purple cobra-like Pokemon. The scales on its body look to be harder than the strongest armor, and it slowly moves it's chest back and forth, which bears what looks to be a second face on it, between the red "eyes," black "mouth," and yellow markings of faux war paint.

Immediately, I'm confused on what to do, thanks to the initial shock of meeting the snake.

Which face do I attack?! What am I supposed to do!

Although the Pokemon is no larger than eleven feet, the average size for an Arbok, to me, it's a starving, bloated skyscraper- a predator that will stop at nothing until I'm tucked away safely in its belly.

"Chaarbok!" the snake roars, bearing its venom-drenched fangs right in front of me. I can already tell that if I don't come up with a plan soon, those fangs will be the last thing I'll ever see, even if this is just virtual reality.

Combat sense... Combat sense... Combat sense...

The phrase suddenly comes back to me as I stare into the Arbok's gaping maw, which opens wide with poison to embrace me.

No! Get away from me! I refuse to become your lunch!

My internal panic effortlessly translates to my paw, and, just as the massive snake lunges at me, I take a desperate swipe in its direction with my paw, blunting it across the side of its purple head before it can take a bite out of me, or worse.

"Chaarbok!" the Arbok reels and immediately begins to prepare for its next attack. Its scaled coils tense with anticipation. One look tells me that the Pokemon isn't about to give up on swallowing me without a serious fight.

Then, a single horrid image vehemently reaps my mind like an overworked farmer- that of myself, sinking inside that Arbok's stomach, falling to pieces courtesy of its digestive acids. Just thinking about it is enough to send chills down my spine.

No, I can't let that happen! For Hestia, for Pyre, and for my deceased family, I'm not going to die today!

With an inspiration- an end goal- in sight, my paws begin to course with rejuvenated blood, like I could actually stand a chance against the massive snake. I can practically feel the anger boiling up inside me.

You're no better than the millions of other bloodthirsty predators in the forest that attempted to kill me! For that, I'm going to make sure you never harm another Pokemon again!

"Impri... Impri... Im... Ngh...!" I try to force the word out of my mouth, the word that I know will incapacitate the Arbok, but I can't seem to make it to the third syllable of "Imprison," no matter how hard I try. It's like a piece of lead had been placed over my tongue the second my mouth reached the end of the word. The Arbok seems especially curious about my struggle, wondering just what it is that I'm attempting to do, so that it can strike accordingly.

Wha...? Why can't I say, "Imprison?!" Those chains are the only thing separating a future that I survive and a gurgling, tormentful one! Come on! Say the word, Sombra! Say, "Imprison!"

"Impri...! Impri...! IMPRI...! Gah! Why can't I say it?!"

My nerves tense up, and I can feel blood pooling in my mouth. Meanwhile, the massive Arbok is beginning to lose interest in my charade of attempt to spout the word, "Imprison," and it continues to slither closer to me once again.

Sheer panic is the only thing keeping me alive at this point. Seeing the slight glint, telegraphing its lunge, I leap over the snake's massive tail to the right, just as the Arbok bares its fangs in my direction and sinks its fangs into what would have been my skin had I not moved so suddenly.

Quickly whirling around with a faceful of dirt, the Arbok becomes increasingly irate, slamming its tail to the ground in fury to cause a shock, which, unfortunately, is enough to make me lose my balance for a single second. In that time, I realize the same thing that the Arbok does.

That single second just forfeit my life.

The Arbok lunges at me, and, as I am unable to dodge out of the way in time, open my mouth to utter,

"IMPRI..." one last time before the Arbok opens its own mouth, not to join in my chorus of agony, but to rip me apart. A look of pure terror, that of a wounded animal finally caught by its predator, grafts itself to my face when the Arbok immediately wraps its coils around my chest at lightning speed and pins me to the ground, squeezing me as hard as it can.

"Impri... ngh..."

I gasp for precious air as the breath and life are squeezed out of me. A small trickle of blood falls from my parched lips and drizzles its red hue across the side of the Arbok's coils. While I'm ensnared, I can see that I'm not the first Pokemon to ever shed in front of the Arbok- its hide is covered with coagulated specs of crimson, further cementing my fate as a dead Umbreon.

"Chaaarbok!" the Arbok hisses, as if to mock me, while I struggle to keep my eyes open against the pain.

"Im..." I try again, but I can't even make it to the middle of the word before I have to close my mouth in agony. Once my mouth is shut, I know it's hopeless to struggle any more. If I still can't utter the word, there isn't any point to continue trying.

Breee... I whimper, making little more noise than a walking shadow or a falling leaf.

"Just get it over with, already!" I manage to shout out,

"End my suffering..."

With those final words, I let my body go limp in the Arbok's iron-like grip and finally give up my struggle. I painfully open one eye, just enough to glimpse the forest one last time, over the top of the purple deathtrap.

With luck, it'll squeeze me to death before it can get any other diabolical ideas...

Then, a small bump inside the snake's coils catches my gaze, if only for a fleeting moment.

That... That was a bulge, wasn't it? There's... There's something inside the snake's stomach already...

It takes me a few seconds for me to process what's about to happen.

Wait a minute...
My blood freezes in my veins, and my body temperature drops a few degrees in fright.

But that means...

I quickly jolt my head upwards, but the only thing that passes into my vision is a large red tunnel straight above me.

It... It's going to eat me whole! No!

Filled with terror, as well as the realization of how that horrid mental image had become reality, I resume my struggle against the snake's grasp.

Too late for me, however, as the second I start moving, the Arbok's massive jaw clamps around my back, and I know that I'm trapped. I've seen a snake's mouth and how the hooked fangs prevent escape before, and, at this point, I know that the only way from here is down- down that massive throat and into its stomach.

Goodbye, world. This is the end of my life.

As if to cherish the moment, the Arbok slowly- ever so slowly, but surely- tilts its head upwards, the sticky saliva in its mouth helping me to slide further and further into, quite literally, the jaws of Death. The snake's foul breath washes over me and overloads my senses, and, completely helpless against the predator, sheer panic causes my entire body to lock up with fear.

The snake turns its head completely vertical, and, with a last hopeless effort, I lodge my paw in the gap between the snake's upper and lower jaw. I could already tell, by the saliva already inundating the black fur and making it slippery, that I'll fall into the gurgling darkness below within a few seconds.

But my last few seconds of viewing the outside world are quickly and prematurely cut short. Before I can readjust my grip on the inside of the Arbok's mouth, it clamps its jaw down, hard, on my paw. Immediately, pain shoots through my entire body, and I instinctively retract my paw from being crushed. In that microsecond, I remember where it is that my paw had been keeping from falling into. Whimpering in reprisal, I tumble down the passage that is the snake's jaw and into the back of its throat, where I grab onto the back of its tongue for support. I slowly turn my head around in the cramped, fleshy, interior, to see the inside of its stomach, already brimming with bubbling acid, far below me.

*Gulp*

Without a chance to hoist myself out of its throat, the swallows begin, as the Arbok attempts to dislodge my grip on its tongue, to pull me into the insatiable vat that is its stomach.

*Gulp, gulp*

The swallowing motions become fiercer and more frequent the longer I hold onto the snake's large tongue with the last of my strength, while the rest of my body remains shoved against the fleshy interior of the throat.

*Gulp, gulp, gulp*

I'm beginning to lose my grip! Gotta... Gotta hang in there! If I let go, now, I'll definitely die. But if I stay attached, maybe it'll get tired of me... Maybe it'll...

*Gulp*

My train of thought is immediately interrupted when the Arbok suddenly closes the back of its throat around me and inhales, prompting a sucking motion that dislodges my paw from the precarious, slippery create crevasse, and, with a final cry of alarm, I tumble down into the Arbok's massive esophagus and am pulled into its oversized stomach, where I land with a splash in the acid below.

As soon as the first part of my fur comes into contact with the clear liquid, my nerves are put on overload as the sudden pain sparks adrenaline from all over my body in an attempt to soothe the agony. I try to ignore the burning sensation plaguing every cell in my body, but the power of the torturing fluid is overpowering.

I... I... my body is... melting away... Quickly...

I gasp when the acid begins to inherit a bright red color, and I look down at my chest in what can only be described as unadulterated horror. There, where my black fur should have been, is already nothing more than a mess of red, orange, and green pieces of myself, floating in a soup of colored acid. Meanwhile, the digestive juices continue to seep through each and every hole that they've made in my skin, further dissolving what little of me was left. Judging by the indomitable strength of the acid, I would be completely digested in a matter of minutes.

A single thought surfaces in my mind- something Percy said just before this all happened.

"Like I said before, this will be a virtual reality simulation. That means, whatever happens, always know that it isn't real, no matter how real it seems to be. Got it?"

I stare at the scene around me in disbelief, at the pain in my gut, and at the mixture of guts and blood floating on the surface of the liquid I'm immersed in.

How is this fake?! That water really did quench my thirst! This Arbok really did swallow me, and it really is digesting me into nothing! There's no way that this can possibly be fake!

With a final desperate plea, I wrack my bone-shodden paws against the stomach walls and cry,

"Percy! I thought you said this was virtual reality! I'm going to die in here; why can't you see that?! Please..."

...

I wait a few painstaking seconds while the acid continues to destroy my bones and muscles, but Percy never responds. It's as he's vanished from existence completely.

"Percy! Please, you've got to help me!"

...

...

Still no response.

The only answer I receive comes in the form of another loud gurgling sound by the Arbok's stomach as it continues its horrifying job as the world's most painful executioner.

"P... Percy..."

I'm beginning to lose the ability to talk, because the acid has already reached my vocal chords and eroded most of them. I barely have enough voice left to croak,

"PERCY...!" with my final breath.

When I don't get a response, my body finally gives in to the pain, and I close my eyes while the corrosive liquid pervades and disassociates my insides.

However, as soon as my vision goes black, I hear a voice, like a revelation from the heavens, themselves, from the outside of the Arbok's stomach.

"That's enough, Arbok! He's dying in there!"

Percy's voice! And he's talking to the Arbok! Is he going to save me?!

"Spit him up before your stomach finishes him off! I told you to test his combat sense in battle, not swallow him whole and digest him!" Percy yells confidently.

Immediately the stomach walls contract, but not in the way that I would like, as if the snake is in motion, and I quickly realize that the Arbok is reluctant to bequeath its catch.

I try to talk, to say anything, but the agony of both losing and seeing your own guts floating around you is too much for me. I can't get a single word out of my mouth, while the Arbok continued to evade Percy. Then, I hear a loud crack from outside, and the stomach is thrown to the right, smashing me between by my own bloody soup and the stomach walls.

"Chaarbok!" the snake roars from outside, but, just as soon as the voice had begun, it dies down, and I hear its massive neck hit the ground. But I can't stay awake any longer- the pain is too much for me, and I black out.

...

...

...

"Sombra! Sombra, are you awake?!"

That's Percy's voice... Am I somehow alive? But... how?

Instinctively, I kick my back paws forward, so that I could swim for a few more seconds in the acid that I had grown so accustomed to, but I'm shocked immediately when my paws touch...

The ground...? So I'm not inside that Arbok anymore...?

Tentatively. I open one eye, and I'm shocked to see Percy's pointed face staring down at me. His purple labcoat seems to be stained with some sort of liquid that I cannot recognize. The view of his face is sideways, hinting on the fact that I've been on the floor in a resting position, which massages my tired hips like a gentle cool stream lapping at my sides.

"Well, did you enjoy your time in virtual reality?" he asks with a grimace on his face, as if he already knows what my answer will be.

"It... it felt all too real, Percy. I felt like I really was being dissolved inside an Arbok!" I reply.

Percy's eyes shield his heart from an unseen pain.

"Poor thing..." he winces, stroking my head with the back of his hand,

"Don't worry, I won't send you back there again."

At his touch, feeling finally begins to return to my body, and I slowly stand up to glance at him. However, the majority of my focus is set on my chest, which had been giving up it's insides during virtual reality, now looks the exact same as before Percy had sent me there.

"But, now that you're through my series of tests, the fun part of your restoration begins," Percy continues to coo,

"I'm going to allow you to explore my entire study down here, but, first, I need to show you a few things. I have security systems set up around here to keep unwanted guests out, and I don't want my machinery to label you as one. Understand?"

I nod my head, and he walks over to a new set-piece that I hadn't previously noticed due to my focus on only Percy before the virtual reality session.

A large metal door looms in front of us, clicking and whirring with anticipation along its blinking wire frame. Percy quickly walks over to a small metal panel to the right of the door and places his hand in it. A low tonal buzzing sound comes out of the panel, and the metal door slides into the side of the wall.

Percy turns to me, motioning down the darkened hallway on the other side of the door.

"Well, let's go. My study awaits," he says, wordlessly walking down the corridor. I follow him without a second, my body and my heart feeling better already.

I'm confident that, although eccentric, this Percy is a faithful friend that will help me in the long run.

Unfortunately, at the time, I didn't know that I would soon live to regret that unplanned thought, for this Scientist is much more than his appearance and behavior suggest.

...

I follow Percy down a series of crudely-lit stairwells, entrances, and walkways. A few torches hang on most of the walls, but many of them are beginning to burn out. I take note of the fact that light could prematurely be completely extinguished from here at a moment's notice. The hallway, itself, is made out of some sort of tiled granite, its gray color making the torchlight flicker ominously along the narrow walls. Dozens of metal doors, matching the one we had left from, breeze past me as Percy leads me along. From the other side of a few of them, I could swear I could hear something screaming, but I quickly disregard the possibility in lieu of Percy's smile. One of the voices, though, jars me back to reality, a calling,

"The library..."

...

No matter which way Percy leads me through the complex granite maze, we always seem to be going further and further down, like the entire lab is on a downward spiral that none of us can change. To further complement what I had noticed, the air continues to grow more and more musty the longer I follow Percy.

"What are all these rooms that we're passing by?" I ask him,

"Aren't they important, too?"

"Well," he begins, stopping to turn and look at me. His eyes are full of desire, but I have no idea for what.

"Long ago, there was another man who owned this place. His name was Lysandre, and it was here that he conducted his own research. However, when his ambitions reached an apex, a courageous young man put a stop to Lysandre's master plans, and his laboratories collapsed on top of him. I've renovated and reconstructed Lysandre Labs to their former glory, but I still have no idea where Lysandre is or what happened to him after the collapse... Ahh, look, we've arrived at my study. Come on, let's get you registered into my system, shall we?"

Percy places his hand on the small metal panel on the door's left, and it gives off a small pinging sound. A few seconds later, the metal door slides open, and Percy leads me into the adjacent room.

Inside is just as dark and crudely-lit as the rest of the complex. The main centerpiece seems to be a massive wooden desk, cluttered with papers and sitting directly in front of a large panel of screens. As I survey the screens, some of the depicted areas on them become familiar to me. One of them, a view of the forest I used to call home. Another is a view of the town. A third screen, most jarring to me, has a still image of me on it, injuries making me beyond recognition. The only recognizable feature on my face is my two yellow eyes.

...

Before I can ask about the image, Percy sees my curiosity and gently strokes my fur.

"Ah, that, it must look extremely gruesome, doesn't it? Don't worry, I refuse to allow something like that to happen to you, ever. I just needed to scientifically imagine what it would have been like for you to be inside an Arbok. That way, I could accurately assess the pain for you to feel in virtual reality. It's a complicated system, but, rest assured, it's all fake."

I begin to pace around the room, taking in each and every facet of the area. On the desk, I could see a small purple collar, with a single word written on it- "Esper." I wonder, for a moment, who wears that collar, until I move on to the next interesting object, a large metal panel with an entire host of buttons on it. It whirs and moans in operation, but, when I try to approach it, Percy quickly moves in front of me to stop me.

"Don'r touch that, Sombra," he warns me,

"I don't want you to accidentally... Alter the virtual reality by playing with the controls. It's a complicated system. But, first, give me a few moments. Please turn awsy- I do not want you to see the passwords that I work with. If somebody were to hound you for that type of information, it could be catastrophic."

Although I'm greatly intrigued by Percy's system, I force myself to avert my gaze from the panel for a few seconds. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a few buttons blink, but they don't make much sense to me. Finally, a loud, blood curdling scream echoes from the panel, and I quickly snal my head back to Percy and what he's doing.

"What was that?!" I cry out,

"It sounded... Like a Pokemon!"

Percy, however, seems much more calm than me about the scream.

"Just an audio clip," he says,

"All part of the system. Do not worry."

Despite the fact that I didn't quite realize the implication of the scream- that Percy would have to first heard the scream himself before he would have access to audio like that- just hearing the noise plants the first seeds of mistrust towards Percy in my mind.

This whole virtual reality thing is seeming more and more realistic the more I learn about it... I ponder the moment for a few seconds, until Percy interrupts my train of thought.

"Alright, finished. Security should leave you alone while you're exploring the Labs now. You just need to remember to pronounce your name clearly to anyone and anything that asks you. I've also activated a small area on the bottom-right corner of every door that, when touched by your paw, will open the door for you. However, there are still a few areas that I've made off-limits for you. Those places are full of... Lab research that I believe would be too dangerous for someone without an adequate background in the sciences to work with. Alright?"

I nod, and he continues,

"Oh, one more thing. I can see it on your face- you want to know how I can understand you so well, correct?"

I've never given that any thought, but, now that he mentions it... How does he understand me? He's a human, so how can he understand an Eevee language?

As if on cue, Percy pulls back the right sleeve of his lab coat, revealing a small device on his wrist.

"This is a translator," he tells me, tapping it with his fingertip,

"It's an updated model from another Scientist based in Johto who first completed the design. Since he based the design on Eevee dialect, himself, I found it quite easy to adapt it to any Pokemon that I choose from there. While I'm not finished with the translation of every Pokemon language, I've documented dialects for at least half of them. A useful project, wouldn't you agree? But I've taken enough of your time already- now, I would like you to explore the Labs while I continue some of my research. I would take you with me, but the chemicals that I work with would damage your internals. Perhaps you could learn to read? I have an entire library not far from here, written in both English and Unown. I understand that you have a solid foundation in reading Unown, yes?"

Solid foundation? Unown? I'm not sure what he's talking about... I deadpan, so I shake my head.

"No? Well, alright. You'll have plenty of time to learn. Now, go on, test your new security clearance on this room's door."

Percy points to it, and I slowly walk over to it.

Well, here goes nothing...

I plant my paw on the lower right-hand corner of the metal frame, and, with a metal click, it slides open in an instant. I'm amazed at how well it works, but I'm eager to test out this power on the other dors, especially this library that Percy had talked about, so I ask Percy about its location.

"The library? It's filled with many different types of paper materials called books, and it's the third door on the left from here. Just follow the stairwell up that hallway and look for a red door. Have fun, Sombra!"

With those words, Percy walks the complete opposite way, further down, and he soon disappears into the dim light of the corridor.

Half of me wants to follow him; half of me wants to find the library.

But if so follow Percy, he said that there was "chemicals" that he worked with that could hurt me. Best not to follow him- Percy' probably has some sort of immunity to it, so he's just watching out for me. That's got to be it.

More to ease my befuddled mind, I head up the darkened hallway, up the rusted stairway, and I soon find myself in front of a large red door made of metal.

This must be the place, I think to myself, and I slowly lift my paw to the lower right-hand part of the door. A loud metal voice greets me.

"Name?" it asks emotionlessly, and panic strikes me.

What do I do? Am I supposed to tell it my real name? Wait a minute, what did Percy say?

"Alright, finished. Security should leave you alone while you're exploring the Labs now. You just need to remember to pronounce your name clearly to anyone and anything that asks you."

I press my lips together and cry out,

"Sombra! My name is Sombra!"

The door whirrs in approval, and a green light appears where I had placed my paw.

"Welcome, Sombra. Please enter."

The red door slides into the wall, and I step into the room.

The library is much larger and more extraordinary that anything I've ever seen before.

Wow... I think, staring up at the wooden rows of objects that seem to stretch eternally upwards. The rows are colored all different shapes and sizes due to the immense variety of them. Not even the cobwebs can reach the top of the shelves.

These must be the books that Percy was talking about... I wonder what's inside them... I begin to approach a smaller shelf to me immediate right, but, before I draw within paw's reach of the books, a voice from the front of the room shifts my gaze.

In front of a large wooden structure, sitting on it with its face in an open book, is a quadruped Pokemon about my size, with completely purple fur, darkened, yet elegant ears, and a large red jewel on her forehead. A purple collar appears on her neck, but I don't take much notice of it.

An Espeon? Here of all places? But... why?

I open my mouth to speak my mind, but the female Espeon quickly interrupts me, with a voice filled with promise and security,

"Welcome to the library, Sombra," she says,

"I've been expecting you."